The sun broke through cloud cover to illuminate a new sculpted feature at John O'Groats on Monday as it was declared officially open.

Various funders and supporters gathered around the gateway arch, marking the start and end of the walking trail at John O'Groats, as retired shop owner Jenny Magee from Harrow – who donated the remainder of her shop stock to help fund the sculpture – cut a red ribbon to a round of applause.

Jay Wilson, Friends of the John O'Groats Trail chairperson, said: "We've been working on this trail for five years and it's very gratifying to finally have an appropriate symbol here to mark the beginning of the trail. I just want to thank so many people here for making it happen, especially the John O'Groats Brewery, the John O’Groats Development Trust (JOGDT) and Charlie Bain who personally donated funds as well as Jenny Magee."

Gallery1

Charlie Bain of Wick, a trustee of the charity developing the John O'Groats Trail (JOGT), gave £1000 to help make the arch a reality. He said: “I’ve always maintained that the trail must have an iconic departure and arrival point. A place to be photographed as a member of the long distance walking fraternity.” Charlie has walked all across the world and said that when he heard that Jay Wilson was creating the long distance trail to John O'Groats he was "immediately interested" and got involved very early on as a volunteer.

The John O’Groats Brewery instigated the arch concept in 2020 and the design, first presented on a paper napkin by Simon Cottam, rapidly took shape. Initially, the arch was to be produced by Thurso College students, but classes there were shut down due to Covid, so the project then shifted to local firm Wickcraft, with owner and metal artist Robbie Anderson undertaking the skilled fabrication at his workshop in Thrumster.

The brewery contributed a further £2000 towards the cost of the arch. Construction then proceeded rapidly, and it was installed at the site on Sunday, April 25. “We wanted to organise something to reflect the good work the Trail does by opening up the beautiful scenery of the north Highlands to folk, and combining that with the brewery as the perfect finish to the walk,” said Simon Cottam who is a partner in the brewery and another trustee of the trail charity.

The arch is one of many improvements taking place in the area covered by JOGDT, which contributed the remaining £1000 cost of the arch. Another project recently completed is the reconstruction of the seaside path starting at John O'Groats harbour. This path carries the Trail for its first several hundred yards and creates a fitting start or finish to the 147-mile (235 km) walk to Inverness. Andrew Mowat, a trustee of the Trust, a partner in the brewery, a trustee of the Trail, and owner of the local Seaview Hotel said “This is an exciting time for the John O’Groats community. Several projects are coming together to make this the truly special corner of Britain it always had the potential to be.”

The arch itself is constructed of steel and is roughly two-metres wide, complete with metal twists representing the sea, Celtic knots, puffins and even some wedding rings – should anyone wish to get married below it. It is painted black with the lettering in silver. Along with the name of the Trail, it also holds a symbol of the brewery, which is located only a few yards away.

“We hope people will stop by for a drink after they finish the Trail, or before they start it,” said John Mainprize, another partner in the brewery. “Or maybe enough drinks in the brewery might inspire some people to spontaneously walk the trail,” replied Jay Wilson.

Entrepreneur and businessman Allan Leech owns the land where the new sculpture sits along with the former John O'Groats Hotel which was revamped some years ago and is now called The Inn at John O’Groats.

Allan said: "Myself and Andrew [Mowat] came up with the idea a couple of years ago of a parking fund in which 100 per cent of all the money that comes in stays at John O'Groats and is spent on projects like this."

The JOGT has become known around the world as the northernmost marked trail in the UK and the last (or first), most scenic stretch of the walk to/from Land’s End. The trail is being developed by the Association of Northern Trails Scotland (ANTS) which is a north Highland-based charity.

For more information visit the JOGT website at jogt.org.uk Donations are welcome and go directly to the development and maintenance of the route.

Related article:

Local trail group gets an injection of fresh energy

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.