It’s not long ago that John O’Groats was voted the worst town in Scotland. Now it’s a thriving visitor attraction.
In 2010, it ‘won’ the Carbuncle award for the worst town in the country and it sparked a plan to get it back thriving again and it has worked very well.
The town is best known for being part of the longest journey in the UK, being almost 1,500 kilometres away from Land’s End in the south west of England. It has a population of around 300 people and according to the Visit John O’Groats website, they have two main focal points which are a post office and a grocery store. The cash machine, situated inside the latter, is listed among the attractions.
But while the town may be small, its name is arguably one of the best known across the country because of the connections with Land’s End.
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But where did it come from and who is the real John O’Groats?
The 15th century Dutchman
Jan de Groot arrived in Scotland from the Netherlands in the 15th century and ran a ferry from the mainland to Orkney.
He charged 2p per trip and that coin became known as a ‘groat’. He built a famous house in the area during the reign of King James IV.
Because his seven sons argued about precedence, he solved the problem by building an octagonal house with eight doors – one for each of his sons and himself to use. He also used an eight-sided table so that nobody sat at the head of it.
It’s believed the name John O’Groats then comes from the name for the coin but others say it comes from the Dutch ‘De Groot’ which means ‘the large’.
Book festival
A book festival is held in the town every year in April and attracts big name authors such as Theresa Breslin and Chris Brookmyre. The festival has been ongoing since 2018 and continues to attract well known writers and provide a platform for locals.
Annual motorcycle event
A motorcycle event has also become a staple of the town. The Wildcat Motorcyle Rally is held in the local village hall and is run by a local club called The End And More Motorcycle Club.
Journey’s End signpost
The iconic signpost is probably one of the most photographed in the UK and in 2020 it was damaged by a group of tourists.
It’s located next to the old John O’Groats Hotel and was installed in 1964 to mark Journey’s End. Originally it was a visitors attraction, with the landowner at the time charging a fee for visitors to take photos with it.
It is now free for people to do so if they wish when they visit.
Brewery and Distillery
In John O’Groats, there is both a distillery and brewery that people can visit. The distillery, named 8-doors after the famous house mentioned earlier, was opened in 2022 when they filled the first cask in the town for more than 180 years.
The brewery also has links to Jan de Groot, with it being based in the oldest building in the town – which they say housed descendants of the Dutchman in the 1700s.
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