Connectivity

Situated on the outskirts of Wick, and just a half-hour drive from Thurso, Wick John O’Groats Airport offers air connectivity to Aberdeen and beyond, with flights operated 6 days per week by Eastern Airways. There is a Public Service Obligation in place on this route which ensures reliability and a control on prices.  As well as scheduled air services, Wick John O’Groats is well set up to handle charter and other private flights, thanks to the services of Far North Aviation.

In addition to commuter services, Wick John O’Groats Airport has a strong track record of servicing commercial operations, including acting as the base for helicopter operations to the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm.

The Far North Line starts at Inverness and serves both Wick and Thurso as well as settlements en route. Travelling by rail to Inverness by rail offers a fantastic opportunity to work while you commute through some of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in Scotland – including the Flow Country, one of the world’s last truly wild places.

As well as passenger services, the line is also well set up to handle freight, with a state-of-the-art intermodal freight terminal at Georgemas Junction just outside of Thurso. Operated by Direct Rail Services, this terminal is already used regularly to handle pipeline traffic for the Subsea 7 site at Wester, and plans are in progress for a commercial freight trial.

Looking to the future, there are exciting possibilities for the line as plans progress for decarbonisation of transport in the region. HITRANS, the transport partnership for the region, has projects in progress looking at a battery-powered commuter train from Wick to Thurso and developing additional forestry traffic on the line.

The A9 trunk road connects the major population and industrial centres of Caithness and North Sutherland to Inverness and the Central Belt of Scotland. Recent major investment by Transport Scotland in the A9 at Berriedale Braes has unlocked additional capacity on the route north of Inverness, and a £3bn investment is in progress to upgrade the entire road between Inverness and Perth to dual carriageway by 2025.

Within the region, there are good bus links operated by Stagecoach Highlands servicing the main towns of Wick and Thurso as well as connecting outlying areas, and regular services to Inverness and beyond.

The Scottish Government has expressed an ambition to develop the A9 into Scotland’s electric highway as part of its ambitious push to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032, bringing with it the potential to put Caithness and North Sutherland on the front line of exciting developments in long-distance electric vehicle travel.

Caithness is well-connected by ferry to Orkney and Shetland, with regular car and passenger ferry services from Scrabster Harbour and Gills Harbour, as well as a summer-only passenger service from John O’Groats.

Significant investment has been made in all three major ports in Caithness – Gills, Scrabster, and Wick – in recent years to develop their commercial and industrial capacity.

Wick Harbour is home to the operations and maintenance base for the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm, and is in the process of developing a High Water Protection Gate which will double the berthing capacity of the harbour.

Scrabster Harbour has significant experience in operations for the oil and gas sector, and with the recent developments of its Jubilee Quay and ongoing redevelopment of the St. Ola Pier are set to significantly boost the harbour’s ability to welcome large cargo and service vessels.

Gills Harbour has experience in the development and servicing of the nearby MeyGen tidal turbine array. It is in the process of upgrading its Inner Basin to meet the needs of the renewables industry in the region and has been identified by Scottish Government as the hub of the Gills Bay Economic Development Zone.