Kinlochbervie
| Kinlochbervie Gaelic: Ceann Loch Biorbhaidh | |
| Sutherland | |
|---|---|
 Kinlochbervie Harbour | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 58°27’36"N, 5°3’-0"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 480 (2001) |
| Post town: | Lairg |
| Postcode: | IV27 |
| Dialling code: | 01971 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
Kinlochbervie is a harbour village in the north-west of Sutherland. In 2001 the population was just 480.
The majority of local industry is based upon the fishing industry. Although the fleet of ships actually based in Kinlochbervie is rather small, many ships from the East coast of Scotland land their catches in Kinlochbervie.
The dominant feature of the town is the large fish handling depot. From here catches are loaded onto large refrigerated trucks for transport by road throughout Europe. The importance of this link to the outside world to the local economy means that Kinlochbervie has surprisingly good road links, given its remote location and rugged local geography.
Inhabitants of Kinlochbervie are sometimes collectively referred to as "Greeks" by the residents of surrounding villages, for reasons now largely unknown. The village itself is sometimes referred to as "K.L.B." The most common surname in the area is "Morrison".
Abut the village
The local scenery is a tourist attraction and is also an important part of the local economy. There are many holiday homes and small bed and breakfast businesses in the area. The largest in the village is Kinlochbervie Hotel.
Approximately five miles' drive, and four miles' walk north of Kinlochbervie itself lies Sandwood Bay, a scenic beach. Other scenic areas close to the village include Oldshoremore beach and Rhiconich.
On Sunday 20 January 2002 the first airing of Time Team’s excavation of the area began. Divers from the programme’s team went to explore the waters off the coast of Kinlochbervie, about sixty feet below the sea’s surface after a shipwreck and artefacts were discovered by divers from RAF Lossemouth. The artefacts found included two anchors, five iron canons and Spanish pottery from the 16th century.
The most northerly port on the west coast of Great Britain, the village is extremely ‘remote’ and was short-listed by the Oxford English Dictionary as an epitome for the word. Both the bank and the cinema have to be transported to the village on lorries.
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Sport
- Football
- Shinty: Kinlochbervie Camanachd Club
In literature
- The village features prominently in Irish writer Brian Friel's play Faith Healer.
- Frank Dye started his mammoth 650 mile journey to Iceland in a small Wayfarer dinghy from the village in 1963, as recounted in his book Ocean-crossing Wayfarer.[1]
Outside links
- Kinlochbervie info
- John Muir Trust:
- Channel 4: Time Team
References
- ↑ ISBN: 'Ocean-crossing Wayfarer: To Norway and Iceland in an Open Boat' by Frank Dye ISBN 0-7153-7371-4