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- North West Highlands
North West Highlands Accommodation
The North West Highlands coast is stunning and remoteSandwood Bay Cape Wrath Durness Smoo Cave Tongue
There's something satisfying knowing you've travelled as far as you can go in mainland Britain. When you get to the north Sutherland coast there are fantastic views over cliffs and turbulent seas with sandy beaches you can have to yourself.
Durness and Tongue are the main settlements in the north Sutherland area that have a choice of accommodation and facilities for stocking up for your travels.
Sandwood Bay, Cape Wrath, Durness, Smoo Cave
Heading the furthest north west you can go on the main A838 road you'll eventually come to Durness. On the way don't miss Sandwood Bay, a fantastic two kilometre stretch of sand lined with sand dunes, on the extreme north west coast. You have to make some effort as the track leading to the beach is four miles long but the journey is well worth it with fantastic views. The beach actually sits in a larger estate now owned by the John Muir Trust who protect wildlife and landscapes in Scotland. The wider estate has maritime cliffs, peatlands and machair all habitats that contribute to fantastic bird and plant life of the area. Check the links right for more information.
Looking to the north you can see Cape Wrath, the most north westerly point of Scotland which is only accessible by foot or ferry and minibus. Check the bus is running as it doesn't always in bad weather and you could get stranded. The link right has full information on accessing Cape Wrath.
Just along the coast on the eastern edge of Durness is Smoo Cave. It is a striking feature of the limestone cliffs being 200 feet long, 50 feet high and 130 feet wide. To see it at its best you need to take the boat trip through its chambers where you can see where the river, Allt Smoo, fall 80 feet in a noisy waterfall. There are also some interesting and rare plants in the clifftop grassland. Check the weblink right for full information.
Durness Sutherland Northwest Highlands
Durness itself is the most north westerly village on Mainland Britain. It is geared up for visitors in that it has a Visitor Centre overlooking Sango Bay 300 metres from the village square.
There is also a good choice of B&B, hotel and self-catering options. It was traditionally a series of crofting settlements and farming is still important to the area. The town has several shops, a post office, petrol station, pub, restaurant, a golf course and Balnakeil Craft Village half a mile from the village square. The Craft Village, which has been going since 1964, contains galleries, workshops and shops for a changing collection of artists and crafts where they produce a range of different works. Visitors are welcome.
A claim to fame for the area is that John Lennon spent boyhood holidays at Dangomore near Durness. Apparently it was the freedom and fresh air of Scotland that he missed when he left the UK for New York.
Tongue Sutherland Northwest Highlands
Tongue is a pretty crofting village on the eastern side of the Kyle of Tongue; the site of one of the final skirmishes in 1746 between Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites and their opponents who included the local MacKay clan who were not Jacobite sympathisers. Before that Tongue was a Norse stronghold.
The settlement is overlooked by the ruins of 14th century Varrick Castle, reached by a mile walk up the footpath beside the bank. Ben Loyal and Ben Hope mountains make a dramatic backdrop to the south. These are some of the last mountains you'll see as you head east to Caithness. When the sea recedes sandy beaches are revealed making this a good spot for seaside views and mountain scenery which can also be explored on foot. You can find woodland walks in the nearby Borgie Forest which also contains a bike trail.
The town has some B&B and hotel accommodation, a post office, art gallery, bank and general store which holds some Tourist Information.
There is fishing available in the area: for brown trout Lochs Craggie and Loyal, for salmon and sea trout fishing the Kyle of Tongue. Permits are available from the post office and local hotel or check the Lairg Anglers Group for more information.
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