Berriedale () is a small

estate village An estate village is a village wholly within and part of a private estate. Usually several hundred years old, they are often well preserved by the family that owns the estate. They often have small commercial operations such as pubs, craft shops, an ...

on the northern east coast of

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, on the

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** Port River Expressway, a limi ...

between

Helmsdale Helmsdale (, ) is a village on the east coast of Sutherland, in the Highland council area of Scotland. The modern village was planned in 1814 to resettle communities that had been removed from the surrounding straths as part of the Highland Clea ...

and

Lybster Lybster (, ) is a village on the east coast of Caithness in northern Scotland. It was once a big herring fishing port. The Waterlines heritage museum is located in Lybster Harbour and provides information on the history and geology of Lybster. ...

, close to the boundary between

and

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

. It is sheltered from the North Sea. The village has a parish church in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

Just south of Berriedale, on the way to the north, the

passes the Berriedale Braes, a steep drop in the landscape (''brae'' is a Scots word for hillside, a borrowing of the Scottish Gaelic ''bràighe''). The road drops down steeply (13% over 1,3 km) to bridge a river, before rising again (13% over 1,3 km), with a number of sharp bends in the road – although some of the hairpin bends and other nearby gradients have been eased in recent years. The impracticality (and cost) of bridging the Berriedale Braes prevented the building of the

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

Far North Line The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-tra ...

along the east coast of Caithness; instead the railway runs inland through the

Flow Country The Flow Country () is a vast area of bog peatland in Caithness and Sutherland, northern Scotland. It is the largest blanket bog in Europe, and covers about . It is an area of deep peat, dotted with bog pools, and is a very important habitat fo ...

. Berriedale is located at the end of the eighth stage of the coastal

John o' Groats Trail The John o' Groats Trail is a Scottish long-distance walking route from Inverness to John o' Groats, traversing back lanes, footpaths, shorelines and cliff tops of the Scottish Highlands. The trail gives access to accommodation, meals and shops a ...

. Berriedale is listed as the place of death on the death certificate of

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George ...

, younger brother of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

. He was killed in an air crash nearby on 25 August 1942, alongside 14 others.

References

{{coord, 58, 11, 22, N, 03, 29, 45, W, display=title Populated places in Caithness Roads in Scotland