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 ...
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 ...
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 dolphin
The white-beaked dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus albirostris'') is a marine mammal belonging to the family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) in the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales).
Taxonomy
The species was first described by the British taxonomist ...
s,
minke whale
The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish n ...
s 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
Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...
. The hamlet also contains a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
church, Skarfskerry Point, a double-headed point in height, marks the eastern entrance point of Brough Bay. The Loch of Mey 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
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).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)
File:Scarfskerry Baptist Church - geograph.org.uk - 225523.jpg, The Baptist Church
File:Farmland near Scarfskerry, Caithness - geograph.org.uk - 106945.jpg, Farmland near Skarfskerry, Caithness
File:Geo, Scarfskerry, Caithness - geograph.org.uk - 106881.jpg, Local scenery
See also
*
Extreme points of the United Kingdom
This is a list of the extreme points of the United Kingdom: the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Traditionally the extent of the island of Great Britain has stretched "from Land's End to John o' Groats" ( ...