Scarfskerry
| Scarfskerry Gaelic: Sgarbh Sgeir | |
| Caithness | |
|---|---|
 Scarfskerry Pier | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ND260734 |
| Location: | 58°38’24"N, 3°15’36"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 300 |
| Post town: | Thurso |
| Postcode: | KW14 |
| Dialling code: | 01847 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
Scarfskerry is the most northerly settlement on mainland Great Britain. It is located in the parish of Dunnet in the county of Caithness, on a small peninsula northeast of Thurso. The name comes from the Old Norse for "cormorants rock".[1]
Landmarks
This rural settlement consists of a scattering of houses and a small harbour with a pier that is no longer used for commercial purposes, although boats operate in the area providing tourists with trips to see White-beaked dolphins, Minke whales and Harbor Porpoises.[2] The pier, about 150 yards long, has a small bight on the southwestern side.[3] It also contains a Baptist church and a pottery shop, Scarfskerry Pottery, established in 1977.[4] Skarfskerry Point, a double-headed point, 30 feet high, marks the eastern entrance point of Brough Bay.[3] The Loch of Mey lies just to the southeast.
Wrecks
The wreck of the SS Linkmoor lies in Scarfskerry Harbour. The ship, under Captain Ridley, was lost during a Westerly gale force 8-9 in heavy sea & squalls on 10 Nov 1930, 2.55am GMT sailing from Liverpool to Blyth: engine trouble and state of weather drove it onto the rocks but thankfully all 32 aboard were saved. The Linkmoor is a favourite "shore" dive site for local divers and is often used as a training dive. The boilers stood proud of the water until they final succumbed to the waters during a storm in the 1990s. A local house situated a short distance from the harbour is named after the ship that salvaged the Linkmoor, the SS Briarbank.
A few hundred yards west of the harbour lies the wreck of the SS Victoria, lying between the harbour and Ruther Geo; this ship was lost on the 3rd March 1891 and the crew rescued by Longhope Lifeboat, who rowed for 10 hours across the Pentland Firth to rescue the crew. A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Benjamin Stout in recognition of his gallantry when rescuing the crew of 22. Eleven of the rescued crew were Germans, and the Emperor of Germany presented a gold watch to the coxswain and £24 to the crew of the lifeboat. In 1996, a fisherman's pattern anchor from the Victoria was raised by Thurso Sub Aqua Club (TSAC), and whilst residing for several years at a property in Scarfskerry was later presented by TSAC to Longhope lifeboat station as a mark of respect for the heroic work carried out by the RNLI on a daily basis. The Victoria is also a popular dive site by local divers, but as with the Linkmoor is best dived during the winter months. Still present on the site are several anchors and slabs of packed stones, believed to be used for ballast.
Pictures
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Scarfskerry Pottery -
The Baptist Church -
Farmland near Scarfskerry, Caithness -
Local scenery
See also
References
- ↑ "Scarfskerry". Caithness.org. http://www.caithness.org/atoz/scarfskerry/. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ↑ Wilson, Ben; Wilson, Angus (2006). The Complete Whale-Watching Handbook: A Guide to Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the World. MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7603-2567-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=ciP9yurcbDQC&pg=RA1-PT81.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sailing directions for the north and east coasts of Scotland: Cape Wrath to Fife Ness and including the Orkney, Shetland and Faeroe Islands. United States Hydrographic Office, U.S. Govt. Print. Off.. 1950. p. 80. http://books.google.com/books?id=jtxHAQAAIAAJ.
- ↑ Ceramic Review. Craftsmen Potters Association of Great Britain. 1992. p. 23. http://books.google.com/books?id=Jx9VAAAAMAAJ.