The Halfway House Hostel is a small, informal place to stay near Berriedale, Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. It offers a shared self-catering kitchen, a cosy lounge, three bedrooms, and a shared bathroom. The rooms include a family room (one double and one bunk bed), a double room, and a single room.
Created with walkers in mind, it is ideally located within five minutes walk of the John o’ Groats Coastal Trail. The hostel sits near the end of Stage 8, ten miles north of Helmsdale and six miles south of Dunbeath, (nearly) marking the halfway point between Inverness and John o’ Groats. All proceeds from your stay go towards maintaining and developing the trail.
On the popular North Coast 500 road route, cyclists and car-based travellers are also welcome. It is also possible to hire the entire hostel for exclusive use by groups of up to eight people.
As there are no restaurants in Berriedale, the hostel provides a well-equipped self-catering kitchen (no full oven, but a small countertop oven and all other essentials). Basic food supplies—such as pasta, rice, porridge pots, tinned goods, tea, coffee, and condiments—are available for guests to prepare dinner, breakfast, or packed lunches. Milk, eggs, and bread can also be provided on request.
There is a café in the village open from 10:00 to 16:00 (last food orders at 14:30), but the hostel itself is usually unstaffed and doesn’t provide prepared meals, so it’s best to plan ahead. Bed linen and towels are provided.
All donations directly support the upkeep and continued development of this still-evolving trail.