Melvich Hotel

Explorer Tom Puffin Cove on the Highland side of the Caithness and Sutherland border is a dramatic little notch in the north coast, with Wester Clett offshore and summer seabirds using the cliffs. I had hoped a puffin might act as a guide, but it was busy carrying on its own life. Come for the wild setting, and watch the birds from a respectful distance. The Caithness Broch Project identifies this spot as Puffin Cove or Drumhollistan and describes a short walk across open ground to the shore. In the nesting season, puffins and other seabirds can occupy the cliff faces. Their presence changes through the year, so no visitor should expect the same crowded rock in winter. Wester Clett and the deep inlets make the place striking even when the birds are away. This is rough coast, not a managed viewing deck. The route can be boggy, the path faint, and the descent to the little cove steep and sometimes waterlogged. Stay well back from unstable edges and nesting burrows. Binoculars let you watch without turning an animal's home into a close-up stage. My imaginary puffin guide is right to ignore visitors who forget whose cliff this is. The Broch Project describes a walk from near the A836, but recent local reports say an informal parking pull-off has been fenced, so do not count on a place to leave a car. Check lawful parking and current conditions before setting out, and turn back if the ground or weather makes the visit unsafe. A careful look from the top is enough; the best discovery here is one that leaves every bird undisturbed.