The final ‘New’ location this week to add to the UKF database is John ‘o Groats. This location was found by examining 1:50 000 geological maps, where a ‘Fish Bed’ runs for a short stretch of the foreshore near the pier at John ‘o Groats. This was a bit of a ‘Pot Luck’ site, since we could find no other information on this site, but turned out to be one of the best days we have had this week.

The fish bed is location approximately 100 to 150 metres from the pier, from where the fish bed starts it runs for approximately 10 metres along the beach. Scales and plates can be seen shining in the rocks and its not until you start to split the rocks that you realise just how rich this site is. Although we could see no signs of any complete or even partially complete fish, plates, scales and bones are packed within a bed around 5cm thick. This bed produced some fish remains as large as 7cm.

The actual geology here is part of the John o’ Groats Sandstone Group which is Middle Devonian. This runs along the coast from the Ness of Huna to the start of Duncansby Head. There are two fish locations, the first at John o’ Groats and the Second at the Bay of Sannick near Duncansby Head. At Giles Bay, the John ‘o Groats Sandstone Group is also present and at the centre of the bay are another two fish beds.