Latheronwheel () is a small village in

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

, in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

area of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is southwest of

Lybster Lybster (, gd, Liabost) is a village on the east coast of Caithness in northern Scotland. It was once a big herring fishing port. The Waterlines heritage museum is located in Lybster Harbour and provides information on the history and geology o ...

on the

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** A9 highway (South Australia), a l ...

Helmsdale Helmsdale ( sco, Helmsdal, gd, Bun Ilidh) is a village on the east coast of Sutherland, in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. The modern village was planned in 1814 to resettle communities that had been removed from ...

, near the junction with the A99 road to

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

, which lies in the equally small village of

Latheron Latheron () is a small village and civil parish in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland, centred on the junction of the A9 with the A99. The Clan Gunn Heritage Centre and Museum is housed in the old Parish Church (built in 1734). The c ...

. The village is at the mouth of a wide valley, through which flows a small river called the Burn of Latheronwheel. It was built on the land of one Captain Dunbar (who had actually wished for it to be called Janetston, after his wife). It was a planned settlement, begun in 1835 with the building of a hotel (then known as 'Dunbar's Hotel' but today as 'The Blends' - due to its proprietor in the 1890s penchant for blending

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

from stills of dubious legality). In the beginning, tenants of the settlement were allocated and the right to fish from the harbour. The harbour was constructed around 1840, with a small

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

(soon disused) built on the southern headland. At one time was the home of 50 boats although few now remain. Initially

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

was caught, but this gave way to

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

. As the herring trade became more concentrated in larger ports in the years before the First World War, the catch and the number of vessels in use in Latheronwheel declined. Latherownwheel Fish Landed 1894-1914

The village is home to the four star Craiglea holiday complex which includes a swimming pool, something unique to this area of Scotland.

References

External links

Overview from the Gazetteer for ScotlandLatheronwheel
on

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Populated places in Caithness {{Highland-geo-stub