View Full Version : John O' Groats made the Times
Anyone see the article in the times, Saturday Jan 19th, page 27?
I thought it gave a negative view of JOG, but what do you think?
Should JOG remain a remote unspoilt outpost or do we want a Scottish version of Lands End?
If you live in Caithness or have been a visitor to JOG, what do you think?
Haven't read the article but guess it won't be very complementary. I've always thought John O Groats to be a major disapointment and embarassment for Caithness, equating to the armpit or perhaps that should that be the elbow of the county. Of course Dunnet or Duncansbay Head are much more satisfactory as terminii for the mainland and then there is always Cape Wrath.
It would be a good idea to let a rogue bulldozer loose on the place and just start all over again. How about a ring of standing stones with some sort of symbolic archway for wacky end to end events and a tasteful information centre run by the org. In fact let's have a prestigious architectural and design competition to relaunch the dump's identity!
northener
19-Jan-08, 22:13
So why do you think it's a dump, then?
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JOG is sadly lacking...the hotel is so run down its soul destroying!Theres hardly anything there to look at,do or buy!Why is it that ALL tourist shops sell things for loch ness?Why would you want to buy that when you are in Caithness?It needs a total overhaul,with up to date shops,cafes,hotels,etc...it could be a wee goldmine IF it were run properly :eek: x
Just had a read myself, at least it looks like 'something' might happen to smarten it up!
A taster: "Its centrepiece Victorian hotel is an empty ruin surrounded by piles of rubbish. An abandoned building site sits next to a “craft village” where “for sale” and “to let” signs hang in the windows" .. "Just about the only thing going for John o’ Groats – apart from the £1.50 sheepskin belly-button warmers (don’t ask) and toffee cowpats at the First and Last souvenir hut – is the free car park, though even that is offset by the 20p charge for the lavatories."
Here's the link to that story:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/news/article3212900.ece (http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/news/article3212900.ece)
The hotel would be lovely if it was done up, my parents spent their wedding night in the eight sided room in it,it was a nice place then :eek: x
Just had a read myself, at least it looks like 'something' might happen to smarten it up!
A taster: "Its centrepiece Victorian hotel is an empty ruin surrounded by piles of rubbish. An abandoned building site sits next to a “craft village” where “for sale” and “to let” signs hang in the windows" .. "Just about the only thing going for John o’ Groats – apart from the £1.50 sheepskin belly-button warmers (don’t ask) and toffee cowpats at the First and Last souvenir hut – is the free car park, though even that is offset by the 20p charge for the lavatories."
Sad but true. The hotel could be wonderful if someone had the money to do it up. The shops are mainly awful. The signpost shouldn't be owned by anyone. It's such a shame. One of the most famous places in Britain - the world even - and it's tacky and shabby. Such a let down for Caithness.
Margaret M.
19-Jan-08, 23:41
The place has huge potential. The once lovely hotel that has become an eyesore should be the centrepiece. It needs a classy restaurant, a nice cafe, shops that offer Caithness products and nice landscaping.
Is the shop on the pier still teeming with flies all year round :eek:
The hotel would be lovely if it was done up, my parents spent their wedding night in the eight sided room in it,it was a nice place then :eek: xis an eight sided room a sexagon ? ;)
is an eight sided room a sexagon ? ;)
LMAO! I like that one! ;) x
connieb19
19-Jan-08, 23:48
The hotel would be lovely if it was done up, my parents spent their wedding night in the eight sided room in it,it was a nice place then :eek: xWas you there with them? :eek:
Was you there with them?
LOL no connie...I didnt come along until a lot of years later...biggest mistake they made :eek:;) I just saw the piccies,no Hilton but much nicer than now x
musta been some piccies . ;)
northener
20-Jan-08, 00:20
JOG is sadly lacking...the hotel is so run down its soul destroying!Theres hardly anything there to look at,do or buy!Why is it that ALL tourist shops sell things for loch ness?Why would you want to buy that when you are in Caithness?It needs a total overhaul,with up to date shops,cafes,hotels,etc...it could be a wee goldmine IF it were run properly :eek: x
Thumper, the reason 'Loch Ness' souveneirs are on sale at John O'Groats is because that is what the majority of muppets getting off the coaches want to buy.
Totally mind-boggling, I know. But the shops do stock extensive JOG souveneirs as well, but you'd be suprised at the very narrow-minded attitude of a lot of the day-trippers when it comes to buying. They want to buy the same crap they can get everywhere else!
I've lost count of the amount of different craft/local lines/JOG themed products the shops have tried over the years. It's always the same lines that sell. Sadly.
The report in the Scotsman (sister to the Times) stated that the average visitor spends just 10 minutes in Groats.
What they conveniently didn't mention is that figure includes a massive amount of geriatric coach trippers who are on a very tight coach schedule and couldn't spend longer there if they wanted to.
If it's overcast, heres what the majotity of coach trippers do.
Get off coach.
Go to woolen mill to use toilet and sit and buy a coffee or walk 20 meters to buy a postcard.
Get back on coach.
Complain that 'there's nothing there'. Even though they've made absolutely no attempt to show any interest apart from having a slash and a coffee.:roll:
Thumper, as for 'if it were run properly' - you can only sell what the public want to buy and JOG has a very, very short season. Around half the length of any other seaside resort in Britain and I'll tell you something, a LOT of better placed, bigger resorts are struggling and lacking investment too.
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thebigman
20-Jan-08, 00:24
If you check out the planning applications on the council website you'll see some activity coming in Groats as a precursor to hotel work.
scotsman1
20-Jan-08, 09:26
The planning application is so that the old hotel can be completly shut down and boarded up and have a big ugly safety fence around it with Danger keep out signs. Then the bar is to be re-located in the small shop next to the hotel that was last used as a photographers shop. Its just going to add to the already terrible state the hotel looks. Its looking like it'll be like this until if or when this so called invard investment is ploughed into John O' Groats. The people who own the hotel have said they will only spend money on the renovations if HIE can attract funding and spend millions on the area.
I had to laugh at the target Roy Kirk has been set to double the number of visitor's within a decade. I thought the article was quite fair really, commenting on the only people to be seen were dog walkers from Wick.
percy toboggan
20-Jan-08, 16:19
Standing stones are not such a daft idea.They would after all one day ,have been in place for thousands of years and might, in eons come to baffle folk as much as Stonehenge or Callanish. Perhaps some linear configuration might point the way to a cosmic connection.
In five thousand years time the explanation' these huge stones wer eplaced here because it was thought the spot needed something to make it memorable
might well be baffling and unfathomable to a hopefuly more sanguine, relaxed bunch of people.
The capability to employ state of the art lifting equipment could surely create a mammoth sized display and would have much more permanence than any visitor centre, or statue.
John O' Groats is a bit of a let down, but it needn't be.
My first visit to john o`groats was a big disappointment. For such a very much talked about place it really has nothing to offer. All i remember is a candle shop and a shop which sold trinkets, oh and the burger van. I'm sure it could be made a lot more attractive for visitors to bring money into caithness. Jan x
Tugmistress
20-Jan-08, 16:48
There could be a lot of potential at John O'Groats if the right investors could be found so it didn't turn into either a dead end dump or some sort of theme park.
I am all for keeping it 'quaint and traditional' but lets not let it rot. probably not explained myself very well but i know what i mean even if you lot don't lol
northener
20-Jan-08, 18:30
The planning application is so that the old hotel can be completly shut down and boarded up and have a big ugly safety fence around it with Danger keep out signs. Then the bar is to be re-located in the small shop next to the hotel that was last used as a photographers shop. Its just going to add to the already terrible state the hotel looks. Its looking like it'll be like this until if or when this so called invard investment is ploughed into John O' Groats. The people who own the hotel have said they will only spend money on the renovations if HIE can attract funding and spend millions on the area.
The bar should be an improvement, really. Not a lot of people realise the bar section of the Hotel is open anyway.
As for the owners saying they will spend when everyone else gets their fingers out of their arses - that sounds like good business sense to me. It was always going to be a high-risk project, so the more back-up, the better.
I sincerely hope we can find a way forward on this, the hotel could be the flagship building for the whole area.....but some people are going to have to stick their financial necks out a very, very long way.
Would any of the critics of JOG be willing to put their money where their mouth is?
Answers on a John O'Groats postcard, please..........
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Tugmistress
20-Jan-08, 18:41
I think the hotel is beautiful, the architecture is magnificent, this is one of my stock pics of it :D i hope it never gets bulldozed down and that it does get lovingly renovated :D (looks a bit grainy due to the size of file i resized!)
northener
20-Jan-08, 18:52
I think the hotel is beautiful, the architecture is magnificent, this is one of my stock pics of it :D i hope it never gets bulldozed down and that it does get lovingly renovated :D (looks a bit grainy due to the size of file i resized!)
The central part is listed, if I remember rightly. So hopefully it would be incorporated in any re-development.
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I love that hotel and hate seeing it looking so run down.
Things I love about JoG are
The view
The boat trips, think they are north marine, but not sure. We have been a couple of times when we have had friends up and I couldn't fault them. Great friendly informative service and a good laugh.
We will be back when the weather is better this year.
What I don't like.
The tack shops.
The fact things are overpriced.
The lack of choice for eating drinking etc
The really bad slow service in the coffee shop.
Well folks there's an open day this weekend at the Seaview. Drop in anytime from 11 to (I think)4.
Regarding the hotel, yes the bar is still open, but customers are few are far between this time of year. As the bar is in a more recent extension it's still in reasonable condition and despite what you might have read elsewhere will not be closing on health and safety grounds, visitors welcome!
The new bar (in what was "Journeys End") will however mean the hotel closes completely, but this will have to happen anyway to allow redevelopment of the building. Interestingly I've heard there has been an objection to the planning permission for this development.
Hotel wise the tower I think is the listed bit, the owners are keen to keep as much of the original building as possible as this is seen as the major landmark of JOG.
On the subject of food at JOG, there's actually a selection for most tastes from the Schoolhouse Restaraunt, The Seaview Hotel, The Woolen Mill coffee shop and The Snack bar (takeaway) on the harbour. The bar at the JOG hotel also sells Pizza's. Also when the new bar opens there will be food there too.
And
You can park for free right on the site and you can even leave your car unlocked.
Also
If you time your visit right you can see Killer whales and harbour porpoise, Gannets fishing, Gret Skua's chasing Seagulls, etc. etc. and all from the harbour or the Ferry or the rib boat.
Last year there was even an otter running around in broad daylight to the delight of those who were there at the time.
Beat that other tourist attractions!
Finally about the 10 minutes thing, who has ever timed visits to JOG ?
I must look out for a man with a clipboard and a watch next time I'm there lol
"you can even leave your car unlocked." :eek:
Not to be advised; in fact a very irresponsible statement!
cuddlepop
04-Feb-08, 14:24
The hotel lets the place down,the tacky tourist shop doesn't help and you go there expecting "something" as a tourist and it just isn't there.
The guy taking the pictures at the sign post,was discussed in another thread..so eneogh said.:roll:
What is there is a smashing campsite with friendly helpful staff,amazing scenery and the strangest shop that you can here before you see.....wind chimes outside,which I liked:)
Torvaig, thanks for telling me i'm irresponsible.
Tell me, when did you last hear of a car getting broken into at John O'Groats?
Please take the comments in the spirit they are meant.
Torvaig, thanks for telling me i'm irresponsible.
Tell me, when did you last hear of a car getting broken into at John O'Groats?
Please take the comments in the spirit they are meant.
Ditto...........
Drove past JOG today, glad I didn't stop! What was left of the place was looking pretty run down....
northener
05-Feb-08, 00:10
Riffman,
I think you'll find most seaside towns are pretty dire in February........
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Yeah I know, I live in wick.........[lol]
northener
05-Feb-08, 09:10
Yeah I know, I live in wick.........[lol]
My deepest sympathies!
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Sorry Torvaig, could see your comments but not the smile on your face as you typed. Lesson learned!
My first trip to Caithness was in 1982 with my parents, just to visit JOG and make the trip of going as far as we could on the British mainland. When we got there it was a little disappointing compared to Land's end which we had visited 2 weeks previously. There was just a couple of shops and nothing of interest for a teenager.
It took me 21 years to return, and a lot has improved with the craft shops and boat trips but the hotel needs attention and new ownership.
Caithness needs JOG to be a focal point and an attraction worth visiting otherwise the word will remain that it is poor and attract less visitors than what it deserves. It will always be a novelty attraction and should be maximised. I certainly drew a bad image on my return south back in 1982 as I think many people did and still do. :(
A good idea would be to have a little 'fun locomotive and carriages' that runs on the road regularly from JOG to Canisbay which takes in the rich scenery and wildlife and can pick up visitors that go via the coastal walk that needs doing up. This would make a great circular walk and with a trip that should be ideal for kids and their folks.
A resident storyteller to tell tales of daring do and history of JOG and the surrounding area would be a lot of fun as well.
I always thought the hotel would be a great venue for one of those 'horror' theme away break holidays with great cuisine. Just a thought....
Kevin Milkins
05-Feb-08, 21:41
I thought JOG was a fantastic place to visit.
However I am from Abertillery
I agree that the standard comment is that there is nothing to see, unlike Land's End where there are the stunning cliffs and you can walk along the top (or you could when I last went there).
By comparison following a long coach or car journey, John O' Groats provides a crumbling old jetty, a hotel that could do with a facelift and a couple of small but expensive tourist shops.
There is very little access to anything in the vicinity and because of the lack of interesting walks to be taken after having attended to primary the needs of the body I can understand the mind's frustration and the frustration of the body to the unsuitability of the location for a bracing, interesting walk to stretch the legs.
It's usually a fair journey (for most folks) to JOG and one sits patiently waiting to the journey's end to see what ? almost nothing, to be able to stretch ones legs ? no, not really, to have nice walks? no, not really. To see any modern miracle of art (e.g. the Angel of the North (heaven forbid!) or some similar unusual item ? no. I can understand that after a long journey the brain is just a teensy bit frustrated.
It's dull IMO and it's a shame. Some thought as to what could be done to make the place interesting and actually satisfying to the tourists who head there wouldn't hurt.
Maybe designating the whole of that north-eastern corner as a windfarm and attracting tourist to the largest and most northerly windfarm in the UK would do the trick. ;)
Green_not_greed
05-Feb-08, 22:39
Should JOG remain a remote unspoilt outpost or do we want a Scottish version of Lands End?
If you live in Caithness or have been a visitor to JOG, what do you think?
I think that apart from the development about 15-20 years ago (at a guess) its always been on the poor side, and those "new" facilities could do with a serious facelift. But NOT a Scottish version of Land's End.
Caithness could really benefit from a properly planned tourist location at JOG - something for people to stop over at and enjoy, rather than come to visit for a spare hour or so while passing through/by. I was last there about a year ago, and it was very disappointing, though that was well out of season.
Perhaps developing JOG as a major tourist attraction is something that the inward investment/Caithness regeneration programme could look at. From the local environment, history and landscape, it has a tremendous amount to offer.
Dare I say it, but Caithness has been rather lazy from the tourist point of view, as Dounreay has provided much needed employment for the area for years. If JOG had been in Orkney, I believe it would already be a major tourist attraction. Caithness can learn a lot from the Orcadians and especially the Orkney Tourist Board.
Margaret M.
06-Feb-08, 02:03
A good idea would be to have a little 'fun locomotive and carriages' that runs on the road regularly from JOG to Canisbay which takes in the rich scenery and wildlife and can pick up visitors that go via the coastal walk that needs doing up. This would make a great circular walk and with a trip that should be ideal for kids and their folks.
A resident storyteller to tell tales of daring do and history of JOG and the surrounding area would be a lot of fun as well.
I always thought the hotel would be a great venue for one of those 'horror' theme away break holidays with great cuisine. Just a thought....
I really like your ideas, Rheghead!
Sapphire2803
06-Feb-08, 13:26
Caithness could really benefit from a properly planned tourist location at JOG - something for people to stop over at and enjoy, rather than come to visit for a spare hour or so while passing through/by.
Perhaps developing JOG as a major tourist attraction is something that the inward investment/Caithness regeneration programme could look at. From the local environment, history and landscape, it has a tremendous amount to offer.
Dare I say it, but Caithness has been rather lazy from the tourist point of view, as Dounreay has provided much needed employment for the area for years. If JOG had been in Orkney, I believe it would already be a major tourist attraction. Caithness can learn a lot from the Orcadians and especially the Orkney Tourist Board.
Can't help agreeing with that, although I'm sure someone will probably want me put in the stocks for having an opinion :roll:
A neighbour of mine moved here from Orkney and he's amazed by the lack of tourist information in Caithness.
The problem here is that there's plenty to see, the place is fantastic, but you have problems finding out where things are. Where is the tourist information in Wick? To my knowledge it's just an afterthought in a shop, I don't know anymore than that because having looked for it for ages and then found it was in a shop which looked busy that day, I didn't bother. I wonder how many tourists do that?
There are brochs which are just left to grow over instead of making something of them, you could have a broch trail, with information boards at each one, what about Buchollie castle? How many tourists would ever hear of it? I think it's stunning! As a bonus it's got talk of pirates and other such exciting things. Everyone's heard of pirates of the Carribean, kids love it, why not cash in and have the pirates of Caithness? There's just no information here :( People miss all the good stuff when they come here and they go away just remembering rain and the fact that they didn't see many trees.
What a waste of an amazing county
northener
06-Feb-08, 19:30
Can't help agreeing with that, although I'm sure someone will probably want me put in the stocks for having an opinion :roll:
A neighbour of mine moved here from Orkney and he's amazed by the lack of tourist information in Caithness.
The problem here is that there's plenty to see, the place is fantastic, but you have problems finding out where things are. Where is the tourist information in Wick? To my knowledge it's just an afterthought in a shop, I don't know anymore than that because having looked for it for ages and then found it was in a shop which looked busy that day, I didn't bother. I wonder how many tourists do that?
There are brochs which are just left to grow over instead of making something of them, you could have a broch trail, with information boards at each one, what about Buchollie castle? How many tourists would ever hear of it? I think it's stunning! As a bonus it's got talk of pirates and other such exciting things. Everyone's heard of pirates of the Carribean, kids love it, why not cash in and have the pirates of Caithness? There's just no information here :( People miss all the good stuff when they come here and they go away just remembering rain and the fact that they didn't see many trees.
What a waste of an amazing county
You are absolutely right.
As local historian Iain Sutherland said " Orkney wears her jewels with pride, Caithness keeps hers in her handbag".
.
Green_not_greed
07-Feb-08, 15:57
JOG has also made the BBC.....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7232369.stm
Good stuff!
GNG
Duncansby
08-Feb-08, 00:07
[QUOTE=emb123;335106]I agree that the standard comment is that there is nothing to see, unlike Land's End where there are the stunning cliffs and you can walk along the top (or you could when I last went there).
What about the sea stacks, geos and sea birds?
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