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Castlehill Heritage Centre is at the small
village of Castletown, 14 miles west of
John O Groats, 5 miles east of
Thurso,
on the far north coast of Scotland.
The Centre gives information on Flagstones
made here from 1820s - 1920s, and provides
workshops for Rope Making, Wood Carving,
Drystone Dyking, and more.
The Heritage Centre is normally open for
visits Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday
afternoons from 2pm to 4pm, all year round
(Except Christmas day and New Years Day)
Postcode: KW14 8TG
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Camping & Touring Parks in
area
By the Heritage Centre is a Walk through the
Old Quarry to Castletown Harbour and huge
Castletown and Dunnet Beach.
The Sandstone Quarry at Castlehill is about
1 mile long, used to make Flagstones from the
1820s - 1920s.
The Flagstones were mainly used for
Flooring, Field Dykes, and Roofing.
The Stone in the Quarry was split into
layers using Levers, then taken to a Mill to be
cut to size by Water Powered Saws.
Flagstones for house floors would be between
20mm and 30mm thick.
Flagstones for roofs was split a lot
thinner.
The Flagstones were loaded onto Ships at
Castletown Harbour to be transported around the
UK, with some used at The Strand and Euston
Train Station in London.
Concrete being used for paving and floors,
along with the high costs of shipping, is said
to have been the reason Castlehill Quarry
closed on the 1920s, with it at one time
employing about 500 men.
More Flagstone
Information
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