Tarbat Ness

[2][3] The height of the headland reaches 17m above sea level in the south and east and 10m in the north and west.

[3] According to the Orkneyinga Saga the Norse Earl of Orkney, Torf-Einarr "was the first man to dig peat for fuel, firewood being very scarce on the islands, at Tarbat Ness" (Torfness in the original).

[5] At the Battle of Tarbat Ness in the 11th century, Thorfinn the Mighty defeated "Karl Hundason",[6] possibly a Viking name for Macbeth.

It was built in 1830 by Robert Stevenson and has an elevation of 53 metres (174 ft) and 203 steps to the top of the tower.

[8] The restored Ballone Castle lies at the south east end of the peninsula north of the village of Rockfield.