Cape Wrath (, known as ' in Lewis) is a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

in the

Durness Durness () is a village and civil parish in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north coast of the country in the traditional county of Sutherland, around north of Inverness. The area is remote, and the parish is huge and spar ...

parish of the county of

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Kyle of Durness and consists of of moorland wilderness known as the Parph. The first road was built in 1828 by the lighthouse commission across the Parph/Durness. This road connects a passenger ferry that crosses the Kyle of Durness with the buildings on the peninsula. Much of the cape is owned by the Ministry of Defence and is used as a military training area, including as live firing range. Areas of it are also designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

, a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

, a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

and a Special Landscape Area.

Etymology

The name Cape Wrath is derived from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

' ("turning point"), accordingly, ''wrath'' is pronounced (''a'' as in ''cat'').Cape Wrath locals accuse MoD of land grab
BBC news website, 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2013-01-20. Vikings are believed to have used the cape as a navigation point where they would turn their ships.Life on the Edge
Northern Scotland – Cape Wrath to Orkney, Coast, BBC. Retrieved 2013-02-06.Cape Wrath

Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for ocean, marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by ...

. Retrieved 2013-02-05.Carter.M (2011
My travels: Mike Carter in Cape Wrath, Scotland
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2013-02-05.

History

Cape Wrath was once the home of a series of small

crofting Crofting (Scottish Gaelic: ') is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were est ...

communities, although by 1845 the only families remaining on the Parph were those of shepherds.Kearvaig
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08. In the 1930s it supported a population of 30 to 40 people, including a small side school at Achiemore which had up to ten pupils in the 1930s but closed in 1947.Cafe at the end of the universe ... where a cup of tea is guaranteed
''The Herald'', 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2013-02-08.Achiemore
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
Education in Sutherland, 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2013-02-09.Uney.G (2009
''Backpacker's Britain: Northern Scotland: thirty two and three day treks''
p.86. Cicerone Press Limited. (online). Retrieved 2011-01-28. Building remains at locations such as Kearvaig have been dated to the 18th century.'Archaeology on the edge – Cape Wrath'
''Sanctuary'' vol 38
pp.50–51, 2009, Ministry of Defence (available online). Retrieved 2013-02-06. The Cape has few archaeological remains which can be dated to earlier than this, although a promontory fort at Eilean nan Caorach to the east of the headland may date to the late prehistoric age.Eilean nan Caorach
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08. Much of the area has been used for sheep grazing, a use which continues today, and shielings, shelters built for shepherds, can be found across the Cape. The area declined in population in the mid-20th century and is now almost entirely unpopulated, although military and tourism use continues. The Cape Wrath Lighthouse was built in 1828 and the access road from the Kyle of Durness dates from the same period. A

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

signal station A signal station is a form of Navigational aid, Aids to Navigation that is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization, IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad de ...

was built close to the lighthouse at the end of the 19th century to track shipping around the Cape.Outline development plan for Cape Wrath
, Highlands and Islands social enterprise zone, August 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-18. On 27 September 1915, while sailing for Scapa Flow, HMS ''Caribbean'', known as before being requisitioned for wartime service, foundered off Cape Wrath in bad weather. A tow by HMS ''Birkenhead'' was unsuccessful, and 15 died.Castle Mail Packet Co
, Red Duster (Merchant Navy Association). Retrieved 2012-11-14. An inquiry later blamed the ship's carpenter for being insufficiently familiar with the ship and for failing to shut all the scuttles. Like most of the crew, he had joined the ship just 10 days earlier.Divers explore WW1 wreck of HMS Caribbean
Divernet news, 2004-05-31. Retrieved 2013-02-06. The wreck was found in 2004, off Cape Wrath, in of water and undisturbed except for fishing nets.Robinson A (2004
Yorkshire diver first to see wreck for nearly 90 years ''Yorkshire Post
''. Retrieved 2007-08-06.

Geography

Cape Wrath is located in the traditional county of

within Highland Region.

is the closest village, southeast with

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

around to the south. The sea cliffs around the cape are composed of Torridonian sandstone and Lewisian gneiss. These rise to above sea level and include the highest sea cliffs on the British mainland at Clò Mòr around to the east of the headland. Sea stacks, such as Stac an Dùnain at the cape itself and Stac Clò Kearvaig to the east, rise out of the sea off the coastline, with Duslic, a reef, north of the cape. The cape is part of the North West Highlands Geopark, a area with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which Sustainability, sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant s ...

status.Scotland's first geopark
, Visit Scotland, 2004-11-18. Retrieved 2013-02-09.

Crofting Crofting (Scottish Gaelic: ') is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were est ...

townships of two or three houses with associated enclosures existed at Daill, Achiemore, Kearvaig and Inshore into the mid-20th century.Daill
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08.Achiemore
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08.Inshore
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08. The land originally formed part of the Sutherland estates owned by the Duke of Sutherland. An area of , covering almost all of the northern part of the peninsula, is owned by the Ministry of Defence for use as a military training area.Fears over future as MoD buy-out of Cape Wrath land looms
'' The Northern Times'', 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2017-07-17.MoD drops Cape Wrath land purchase

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 2013-05-13.£22.5k for Cape Wrath community land buyout
'' The Northern Times'', 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-07-17.

Climate

As with the rest of the British Isles, Cape Wrath has an Oceanic (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

Cfb) climate. This is especially pronounced due to its western coastal location. Its exposed northerly position can give rise to some exceptionally low winter sunshine levels: in January 1983 it recorded just 38 minutes of sunshine, a record low for Scotland.Gazetteer: Climate
Love of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-03. (archived a

. This exposed position, however, also means severe frost is rare compared to inland locations such as Altnaharra or Kinbrace. The record low of is comparable to those recorded in

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

, the

Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...

and the

Scilly Isles The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point, and has the souther ...

of England. A slight föhn effect can also occur with the right angle of southerly winds, exemplified by the record December high of . Strong winds can be a feature of weather conditions at the cape, with gusts of recorded.

Natural environment

Kearvaig Beach and Cathedral Rock - geograph

Because its landscape is largely untouched by man, Cape Wrath has a wide diversity of wildlife, including

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, hooded crow, rock pipit,

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

, cormorant and gannet. An area of is designated as a

(SPA) and a

(SSSI).Cape Wrath
SPA designation, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 2013-02-06. The cliffs around the cape are an internationally important nesting site for over 50000 seabirds, including colonies of puffin '' Fratercula arctica'', razorbill '' Alca torda'', guillemot '' Uria aalge'', kittiwake '' Rissa tridactyla'' and fulmar '' Fulmarus glacialis''.Cape Wrath
, Citation for Special Protection Area, Scottish Natural Heritage, September 2009. Retrieved 2013-02-06. The SPA extends out to sea and includes the sea bed and marine environment which is a source of food for the bird population of the area. Numbers of seabirds in the area saw significant declines in the early 21st century with puffin numbers falling by 50%.'Ringing in the century'
''Sanctuary'' no.38
2009, pp.20–23, Ministry of Defence (available online). Retrieved 2013-02-06. An area of is also designated as a

.Cape Wrath
Site details, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 2013-02-06. Marine species present in the area include

harbour porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...

, common seal and bottle-nosed dolphin as well as species such as sea squirts and

sponges Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and ar ...

.Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom, Region 3 North-east Scotland: Cape Wrath to St. Cyrus
Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2006. Retrieved 2013-02-06. The cliff-top vegetation at sites such as Clò Mòr includes common scurvygrass '' Cochlearia officinalis'' and a wide range of habitats are present. These include cliff-top sand dunes at the cape itself as well as montane habitats found at sea level. An area of around the coastline is designated as a Special Landscape Area.Assessment of Highland Special Landscape Areas
, The Highland Council, June 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-05. This area extends from Oldshoremore in the south-west to

in the east and includes the entire coastline of the cape area. Just offshore is Stac Clò Kearvaig, also known as "The Cathedral" due to the appearance of two spires and a natural window created by erosion. To the east lies Garvie Island (An Garbh-eilean), one of the main targets for live firing by the military. Inland the landscape is primarily covered in peat and is often boggy with difficult terrain and a number of lochans, the largest of which, Loch Airigh na Beinne, is around in area. The area has been described as one of the few coastal wildernesses in Britain. Plant species include heather '' Calluna vulgaris'', juniper '' Juniperus communis'' and ferns.

Cape Wrath Lighthouse

The lighthouse at Cape Wrath was built in 1828 by Robert Stevenson and was staffed until 1998, when it was converted to automatic operation by the

. The lighthouse, which is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, is a tall white-washed tower built of granite with a single storey semi-circular base building. The light, which is above sea level, is visible for . A complex of buildings close to the lighthouse were built by

between 1894 and 1903 as a signal station to track shipping around the Cape. This closed in 1932, although the buildings were reused at the start of World War II as a coastguard station.

Military use

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) owns a area of the cape, known as the Cape Wrath Training Centre.Cape Wrath Range
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-05. The cape was used for training exercises from the early years of the 20th century,Public Information Leaflet
Defence Training Estate Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-06. with the first by-laws established in 1933 to allow use of the area as a firing range. The area was used originally as a naval gunnery range and was bought by the MoD in 1999. Since 2005 the area has been used as a multi-services training area and is one of the sites used in the Joint Warrior exercises, Europe's largest military exercise, and by other NATO operations.'Don't bomb' idea for Cape Wrath firing range
BBC news website, 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
''The Northern Times'', 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2013-02-09. Training is allowed on up to 120 days a year,Cape Wrath will not be closed to public, MP says
''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-18. usually taking place in the spring and autumn, although times can be unpredictable. The range is usually open for public access during the summer period and there is rarely firing on Sundays. The MoD owns a number of the surviving buildings in the area and operates observation posts and sentry posts during training. It is used for naval gunfire practice and for army artillery and mortar range firing.Military activities undertaken at Cape Wrath
, Royal Navy. Retrieved 2013-02-05. Disused military vehicles are often used as targets. The RAF uses An Garbh-eilean (Garvie Island) as a target for a range of training operations. It is the only place in the Northern Hemisphere where

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

forces combine land, air and sea capabilities in assault mode for training manoeuvres, deploying ordnance up to bombs.Cape Wrath Training Area
Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 2013-02-06.Cape Wrath Training Area
Public access to military areas, Ministry of Defence, 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2013-02-06. Firing on the range is controlled from Faraid Head close to Balnakeil. In 2008 a heath fire was caused on the range during a period of live firing. An area of around was affected. Scottish Natural Heritage estimated that the area would take 10 years to return to its normal environmental conditions.MoD accused of 'wildlife crime'
BBC news website, 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2013-02-05.New details emerge on cape fire
BBC news website, 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2013-02-05. Concern has also been raised of the effects of military exercises on nesting birds, on sheep during lambing season and the effects of noise on local residents.Concern over live shelling
BBC news website, 2003-02-24. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
, ''The Northern Times'', 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2013-02-08. A shell fired during exercises caused concern in 2002 when it landed off-target near the mouth of Loch Eriboll and around from houses.Inquiry into shell incident
BBC news website, 2002-07-09. Retrieved 2013-02-05. The MoD expressed an interest in extending its land holdings on the Cape in 2012 after being given the opportunity to purchase surrounding Cape Wrath Lighthouse by the

.What motivates communities to buy land they live on?
BBC news website, 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2014-02-18. The plans were opposed by the Durness Development Group which cited concerns that historic buildings might be destroyed and that visitors may be unable to access cliff top paths. The group registered an interest in the land using community right to buy legislation and a petition opposing the sale attracted thousands of signatures. In May 2013, the MoD announced that it would not be continuing with the purchase.MoD retreats from Cape Wrath buyout
''

'', 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2014-02-18.

Tourism

The cape is visited by between 2,000 and 6,000 tourists a year, attracted by the lack of settlements, plants, animals, cliffs, mountain backdrop and

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

.Snap! Cape Wrath to grace playing cards
''The Scotsman'', 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
''The Northern Times'', 2012-12-21. Retrieved 2013-02-08. The tourist industry is estimated to be worth between £400,000 and £620,000 to the economy of the local area around Durness. The Cape is the northern trail head of two trails. #The Cape Wrath Trail, through isolated country from Fort William #The Scottish National Trail, from

Kirk Yetholm Kirk Yetholm ('kirk yet-ham') is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, southeast of Kelso, Scotland, Kelso and less than west of the Anglo-Scottish Border, border. The first mention is of its church in the 13th century. Its ...

on the Scottish border.Scottish National Trail aims to link landscape and history
BBC news website, 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2013-02-05. Cape Wrath is also the turning point for the Cape Wrath Marathon. It runs for to the lighthouse and the same distance back to the ferry dock on the Cape side. The final leg of the race is run from the mainland side from the ferry dock and finishes at Durness Community Centre. The marathon is held each year as the final event of a week of races, ''the Cape Wrath Challenge''.
, ''The Northern Times'', 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2013-02-08. The sole inhabitants of the Cape are the Ure family, renting the main building. They converted it into a three-bedroomed home, and opened what is claimed to be Britain's most remote cafe, the Ozone Cafe, in 2009. The cafe was opened by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

, and seats eight people. The Durness Development Group has made proposals, assisted by the Highlands and Islands Social Enterprise Zone, to develop Cape Wrath as a visitor location. These may see the number of visitors rise to 10,000 and facilities at the Cape developed.

Transport

View of Bridge at Daill on Cape Wrath Road - geograph

From the south, the only route to the Cape is on foot from Sandwood Bay and Kinlochbervie. Access is restricted at times by military operations on the Cape. A rough road of around links the lighthouse with the Kyle of Durness which is crossed by a passenger ferry service operating between May and September. The road was built as part of the lighthouse construction in 1828 and, in places, uses a series of rock causeways to cross peat bogs and

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water an ...

s to maintain a route along steep slopes. Materials for the road were quarried locally and there are a number of quarrying sites along it. The road is marked with milestones and crosses the Allt na Guaille and Kearvaig River on contemporary arched bridges.Kyle of Durness to Cape Wrath lighthouse
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-05.Allt na Guaille
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-05.Kearvaig River road bridge
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-05. The original slipway on the Kyle of Durness was built north of Daill with an associated storehouse similar to that at Clais Charnach.Kyle of Durness storehouse to Cape Wrath lighthouse
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08. This was linked by a rough track with the road being extended south the slipway at Ferry House during the 1830s.Kyle of Durness
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 2013-02-08. The road, the U70, passes the hamlet of Achiemore where a Ministry of Defence check-point blocks access to the cape during live firing exercises. It passes the farmsteads of Daill and Inshore, where the MoD uses the remaining house, before a track to the right links the road to the old hamlet of Kearvaig, where there is a beach and Kearvaig House which the Mountain Bothies Association have converted into a bothy. Margaret Davies, a walker, was found there dying of starvation in 2002.Margaret's story
''The Guardian'', 2002-12-18. Retrieved 2013-02-05. A minibus service operates along the road during the summer period linking the ferry slipway with the lighthouse. The road, ferry and minibus service are suspended during military training operations on the cape.

References

External links

Visitors WWW siteCape Wrath tourism

Cape Wrath Training Area
Ministry of Defence information, including access information and contact telephone numbers
North West Highlands Geopark
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125183830/http://www.northwest-highlands-geopark.org.uk/ , date=25 January 2008 Bombing ranges Wrath Landforms of Highland (council area) Landforms of Sutherland Cape Wrath Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North West Sutherland