Skarfskerry (or Scarfskerry; gd, Sgarbh Sgeir) is a settlement located in the far northern county
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 ...
on a small peninsula northeast of
Thurso
Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great ...
off the
A836 in
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 the most northerly settlement in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. The name comes from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...
for "
cormorants' rock". Historically, it belonged to the Parish of
Dunnet
Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet.
Village
The village centres on the A836 road, A836–B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats ...
, along with
Brough.
Landmarks
This rural settlement consists of a scattering of
crofts and other houses and a small harbour with a pier. The harbour is no longer used for commercial purposes, although boats operate in the area for small amounts of fishing and trips for tourists to see
white-beaked dolphins,
minke whales and
harbor 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 ...
s.
The pier, about long, has a small bight on the southwestern side,
and a rocky beach continues towards the nearby settlement of
Ham. The hamlet also contains a
Baptist church, Skarfskerry Point, a double-headed point in height, marks the eastern entrance point of
Brough Bay.
The
Loch of Mey
Loch of Mey is a loch near the north coast of Caithness, Scotland, and one of the most northern water features of mainland Britain. It lies just to the south of Skarfskerry, and southwest of Harrow. Described as a "shallow ephemeral loch fringed ...
lies just to the southeast, which also features in a series of children's stories, ''The Loch of Mey Monster'', by a local author from 2007 to 2009.
Scarfskerry Harbour is also home to the wreck of the SS ''Linkmoor'', of London, Captain Ridley. Liverpool to Blyth. It was lost on 10 November 1930 at 2:55 a.m. during a westerly
gale of force 8–9 in heavy sea and squalls. It was caused by engine trouble and the state of the weather, with 32 on board who were all saved. The SS ''Linkmoor'' is a favourite "shore" dive site for local divers and is often used as a training dive, which is best dived in winter due to the shallow nature of the wreckage being obscured by kelp. The boilers actually stood proud of the water until they finally succumbed to the waters during a storm in the 1990s.
A few hundred metres west of the harbour lies the wreck of the SS ''Victoria''. Situated between the harbour and Ruther Geo, this wreck was lost on 3 March 1891. The crew were rescued by Longhope Lifeboat, who rowed for 10 hours across the Pentland Firth to rescue the crew. An
RNLI 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 SS ''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.
File:Scarfskerry Pottery - geograph.org.uk - 253538.jpg, Scarfskerry Pottery (relocated to John O'Groats in 1986)
See also
*
Extreme points of the United Kingdom.
References
{{Reflist
Populated places in Caithness
Ports and harbours of Scotland