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John o' Groats
John o' Groats (Scottish Gaelic: Taigh Iain Ghròta) is a village 2.5 mi (4 km) north-east of Canisbay, in the historic county of Caithness, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's north-eastern tip and is popular with tourists. The northernmost point of mainland Scotland is nearby Dunnet Head and the north eastern corner is nearby Duncansby Head. John o' Groats is sited 690 mi (1,110 km) from London, 280 mi (450 km) from Edinburgh, 6 mi (10 km) from the Orkney Isles and 2,200 mi (3,500 km) from the North Pole; it is 4+1⁄4 mi (6.8 km) from the uninhabited Island of Stroma. In summer, a ferry operates between John o' Groats and Burwick on South Ronaldsay in Orkney.[1] NameThe settlement takes its name from Jan de Groot,[2] a 15th-century Dutchman who once plied a ferry from the Scottish mainland to Orkney, which had recently been acquired from Norway by King James IV. Local legend has that the "o' Groats" refers to John's charge of one groat for use of his ferry, but it actually derives from the Dutch de groot, meaning "the large". People from John o' Groats are known as "Groaters". The name John o' Groats has a particular resonance because it is often used as a starting or ending point for cycles, 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 and as a metaphor for great or all-encompassing distance, similar to the phrase common in the American continents, "coast to coast". Also, for many years, it was the northern terminal of the A9 trunk road, which now ends at Scrabster. The longest journey possible in the UK is however Lands End to Duncansby Head, 2 miles to the east of JoG. DemographyIn 2007, the population of John o' Groats was about 300.[3] The village is dispersed, but has a linear centre with council housing, sports park, and a shop, which is on the main road from the nearest town of Wick.  TourismJohn o' Groats attracts large numbers of tourists from across the world all year round. In 2005, a popular tourist guide, Lonely Planet, described the village as a "seedy tourist trap";[4] in 2010, John o' Groats received a Carbuncle Award from Urban Realm magazine for being Scotland's most dismal town.[5] The completion of major redevelopment work in 2013 aimed to revitalise the area.[6] In the second weekend of July, the annual Wildcat Motorcycle Rally held at the local village hall, which is run by a local club of motorcycle enthusiasts called TEAM MCC (The End And More Motorcycle Club). John o' Groats lies at the end of the 14th stage of the John o' Groats Trail, a long-distance walking trail from Inverness to John o' Groats.[7] HotelThe John o' Groats House Hotel was built on or near the site of Jan de Groot's house and was established in 1875. It has been described by Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant as "one of the UK's most famous landmarks".[8] It was closed for several years and fell into disrepair, until undergoing a radical transformation by Edinburgh-based architects GLM for self-catering holiday specialists Natural Retreats. It reopened for business in August 2013.[9]
Signpost The landmark Journey's End signpost at John o' Groats was installed in 1964 on private land and operated as a visitor attraction by a Penzance-based photography company that also operates its counterpart at Land's End. Visitors paid a fee for a photograph of themselves next to the signpost, displaying either a message or the date and distance to a location of their choice. The original site was bought in 2013, as part of the hotel redevelopment, and the signpost was moved to a caravan park 200 yd (180 m) away. When the hotel reopened, a publicly accessible signpost was erected at the original site, without customisable text.[11] TransportLocal bus services are operated by Stagecoach Highlands and Aaron's of Wick; routes connect the area to Wick, Thurso and Dounreay.[12] The nearest National Rail Station is at Wick. The normal weekday service is three trains per day to Inverness, operated by ScotRail.[13] SportJohn o' Groats FC plays in the Caithness Amateur Football Association.[14] Book festivalThe John O'Groat Book Festival was held for the first time in 2018. Since then, it has attracted authors such as Theresa Breslin and Christopher Brookmyre, as well as a number of local authors.[15] The festival is held annually in April. Climate
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