John o' Groats (Scottish Gaelic Taigh Iain Ghròt) is a town in the county of Caithness on the north-eastern tip of Scotland and is now part of the Highland council area. It has around 300 inhabitants (2007).
Strictly speaking, it is not the northernmost point of the British mainland; this is Dunnet Head, is a little further west and has no town. John o' Groats is just over two kilometers south on the north-south axis, but almost 25 km further east of this point of land on the north-eastern tip of Scotland. Since this represents the perceived - because it is the furthest - "actual" other land end of the distance diagonal to Land's End (which is also not the southernmost land point, that is Lizard Point), the village is the measure of all distances in Great Britain: “Once 'throughout the land' is equivalent to 'From John o' Groats to Land's End'.
These 874 miles (1406 km) represent the furthest direct road distance between two locations on the main island. This corresponds to the distance between Hamburg and Monaco.
Just east of John o' Groats is Duncansby Head, famous for its spectacular rocky pinnacles, the Duncansby Stacks, and as a nesting site for many rare seabirds, including puffins.
The name John o' Groats is said to come from the Dutchman Jan de Groot, who was granted ferry rights to the offshore Orkney Islands in 1496. At that time, the islands had only recently been owned by the Scottish Crown. De Groot demanded a fee of four pence for the ferry transport. The associated coin became known as a groat.
Jan de Groot is said to have built an octagonal house for himself and his sons and set up an octagonal table in it so that everyone could sit at one end and everyone was equal.
The place name goes back to a Dutchman named Jan de Groot. The Scottish King James IV is said to have given him the ferry rights to Orkney in 1496 after the Norwegians had to cede the archipelago to Scotland. De Groot is said to have asked for four pence and then given a coin as a ticket for the crossing, which then became known as Groat in colloquial usage. Hence the name John o' Groats.