John o' Groats

John o' Groats

Infobox UK place
official_name= John o' Groats
gaelic_name= Taigh Iain Ghròt
country= Scotland
population= 300
os_grid_reference= ND380734
latitude= 58.64
longitude= -3.07
post_town= WICK
postcode_area= KW
postcode_district= KW1
dial_code= 01955
constituency_westminster= Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
unitary_scotland= Highland
lieutenancy_scotland= Caithness
constituency_scottish_parliament= Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
static_

static_image_caption=John o' Groats House

John o' Groats ("Taigh Iain Ghròt" in Scottish Gaelic) (gbmapping|ND380734) is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. Once a part of the county of Caithness, John o' Groats is popular with tourists because it is usually regarded as the most northerly settlement of mainland Great Britain. [ [http://www.uktrail.com/hostels/highland/eastbox.php Hostels in Inverness, Loch Ness, Great Glen, Northeast Scotland, UK Trail] ] The actual location of the most northerly point, however, is at nearby Dunnet Head. [ [http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dunnet/dunnethead/ Dunnet Head, Undiscovered Scotland] ] (gbmappingsmall|ND202767)

The name John o' Groats has a particular resonance because it is often used as a starting or ending point for walks and charitable events to and from Land's End (at the extreme south-western tip of the Cornish peninsula in England). The phrase "Land's End to John o' Groats" is frequently heard both as a literal journey (being the longest possible in Great Britain) and as a metaphor for great or all-encompassing distance, similar to the American phrase "coast to coast".

The punctuation and capitalisation in "John o' Groats" is the correct form. The space after "o"' appears to vary but was probably the correct older form. The town takes its name from Jan de Groot, a Dutchman who obtained a grant for the ferry from the Scottish mainland to Orkney, recently acquired from Norway, from King James IV in 1496 [ [http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/johnogroats/johnogroats/index.html John o' Groats, Undiscovered Scotland] ] .

Demography

The population of John o' Groats is approximately 300, ±10 (John o' Groats tourist information, 29 October 2007).The village is dispersed but has a linear centre where council housing, sports park, and a shop which is on the main road from the nearest town of Wick.

Tourism

John o' Groats attracts large numbers of tourists from all across the world all year round, despite criticism from the 2005 edition of backpacker's bible Lonely Planet slamming the village as a "seedy tourist trap". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4573511.stm "Northern outpost dubbed 'seedy'", BBC News] ]

ignpost

The famous "Journey's End" signpost at John o' Groats is privately owned and operated by the same Penzance-based photography company which operates its counterpart at Land's End, with a fee payable for having pictures taken next to the signpost. A free signpost is situated on the wall next to the First and Last souvenir shop and the harbour.

port

John o' Groats is home to two football clubs, John o' Groats and Canisbay Juniors. John o' Groats FC are an amateur outfit who play in the top flight of Caithness Amateur Football, they also enter a team into the Winter 7s which are played in Thurso. They are current champions of the second division. The also have the distinction of being the most northerly British mainland club. They recently won the Eoin Mackintosh Memorial Cup with a 2-1 victory over local rivals Pentland United, claiming their first major county trophy. The clubs away shirt can be purchased in the Seaview hotel in John o' Groats.Canisbay Juniors are the "feeder" team to John o' Groats FC with many of the key first team players having played for the juniors side at one time. They play in the youth development leagues in Caithness where they enter teams at all age groups.

Hotel

The John o' Groats House Hotel has been described by Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant as "one of the UK's most famous landmarks" [ [http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/3306/Community_buyout_could_save_landmark_hotel.html Community buyout could save landmark hotel, John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier] ] . It was established in 1875 [ [http://www.visitjohnogroats.com/john_o_groats%20house_hotel.htm John o' Groats House Hotel and Groats Inn, Visit John O'Groats] ] , but is no longer a hotel and the public bar was shut down recently as it will move across the car park to the hexagonal building where it will become a cafe/barfact|date=August 2008. That makes the building empty and locals are trying to mount a community buyout of the hotel. It was built on the ground where Jan de Groot's house lay.

External links

* [http://www.visitjohnogroats.com/ Visit John o' Groats]
* [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/305137/John-oGroats John o' Groats, Britannica Online Encyclopedia]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John o’ Groats — Koordinaten 58° 38′ N, 3°  …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John o' Groats — (Taigh Iain Ghròt en gaélico escocés) es un pueblo situado en el extremo norte de la región tierras altas escocesas, y se considera popularmente el punto más septentrional de la isla de Gran Bretaña. Sin embargo, esta distinción corresponde… …   Wikipedia Español

  • John o'Groats — 7 [ˌdʒɒn əˈɡrəʊts] [ˌdʒɑːn əˈɡroʊts] noun a village in Scotland that is further north than any other place on the island of Great Britain compare ↑Land s End   Word Origin: [John o Groats …   Useful english dictionary

  • John O' Groats — a place in northeast Scotland, which people think of as the most northern part of the UK, although in fact it is not. It is used especially in the phrase from Land s End to John O Groats , which means right across the UK …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • John O' Groats — John O’ Groats UK [ˌdʒɒn ə ˈɡrəʊts] US [ˌdʒɑn ə ˈɡroʊts] a place in north east Scotland that people often think of as the furthest place you can travel to in the north of the UK http://www.macmillandictionary.com/med2cd/weblinks/john ogroats.htm… …   Useful english dictionary

  • John O'Groats — Hafen und Hotel von John o’ Groats John o’ Groats ist ein Ort in der Grafschaft Caithness an der Nordostspitze Schottlands (heute Teil der Region Highland). Streng genommen ist er nicht der nördlichste Punkt der britischen Hauptinsel (dieser ist… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John o' Groats — Hafen und Hotel von John o’ Groats John o’ Groats ist ein Ort in der Grafschaft Caithness an der Nordostspitze Schottlands (heute Teil der Region Highland). Streng genommen ist er nicht der nördlichste Punkt der britischen Hauptinsel (dieser ist… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John o' Groats — 58° 38′ N 3° 04′ W / 58.64, 3.07 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John o'Groats — ▪ Scotland, United Kingdom       village near Dunnet Head, the northernmost point of mainland Great Britain in the Highland council area, historic county of Caithness, Scotland. The scattered village is the site of a house, now only a mound,… …   Universalium

  • John o'Groats — /dʒɒn əˈgroʊts/ (say jon uh grohts) noun 1. a location at the northern tip of Scotland; popularly called the northernmost point of the mainland, but, in fact, Dunnet Head to its west is more northerly. –phrase 2. from Land s End to John o Groats …  

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”