The Area

Northwest Sutherland is the emptiest county in the UK and you do not have to go far from the main road to find large tracts of uninhabited spaces. This is a huge land with a small population. This area has a population density of less than 1 person per km and second to the people its the unspoilt nature and diversity, the wealth of flora and fauna in the area that make the locality unique. The distinctive landscape is very valuable. In our landscape we see that cultural and environmental values go hand in hand. Sheep have grazed much of the land for nearly two hundred years and this has had an impact of what you now see in the way of vegetation.

Skies that are forever changing are in step with the weather that is constantly varying. Rainbows appear and colour a black sky. Early in the year ferocious storms can lash the coast and the skies can be even more dramatic. There is always something to see with a constantly altering light. The winter skies produce some amazing displays of the northern lights, as lights flicker and dance in the sky.

KINLOCHBERVIE "Ceann LochBiorbhaidh" is set in a rugged rocky inlet, a major fishing village which sees its catch exported all over the world. Kinlochbervie was developed from a hamlet after 1947 for white fish and lobster fishing, it's a scattered village on the west coast of Sutherland. Kinlochbervie lies on the north side of Loch Inchard set amid spectacular Sutherland scenery, clean sandy beaches, lochs, sea birds, wild flowers where there is excellent walking, bird watching, absailing, sea fishing, trout & salmon fishing.

The house has a shore line half a mile away, a ten-minute walk. Around the area are interests for all, boat trips, an interesting golf course and Smoo Cave at Durness (20mls) visit Cape Wrath the most northerly lighthouse in Scotland. Take a boat trip from Tarbet to see seals, wild flowers and birds nesting in the sea cliffs on Handa Island, Lochinver 45mls Ullapool, Achiltibuie 60mls

Car hire is available at Inverness 100mls

In Kinlochbervie is public telephone, post office, slipway for dinghies, local shops, doctor, pub, restaurant.

The spectacular Sandwood Bay is a 5-mile walk from the cottage and it is possible to walk the coastline from Sandwood Bay to the Cape, to the north, at the extremity of a cliff-bound stretch of coast, is the lonely lighthouse at Cape Wrath however the terrain is very rough, trackless, passes over high cliffs and drops into the coves, and there are two sizeable river crossings. You also need to coordinate your arrival with a pre-arranged meeting for the summer mini-bus service that will take you back to the ferry at Durness - or add a further 16 miles of walking along the road; the bulk of the road walking is through MOD land and there is no alternative. The Ministry of Defence uses the Cape Wrath area and there are access restrictions to the coastline and the interior.

• Mackay Country
  Mackay Country, the area known from at least the 11th century onwards as the Province of Strathnaver, was absorbed into what is now known as the County of Sutherland in the 19th century. It was the traditional homeland of the Mackay clan, and the name is still very common in the area today.
• www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/kinlochbervie/kinlochbervie/
  Information about Kinlochbervie and the area with links to local interest
• www.jmt.org/cons/sand/index.html Sandwood Estate is the northern half of what used to be Kinlochbervie Estate. It is roughly triangular in shape. Best known for its beaches, cliffs and peatlands. It includes eight islands and a sizeable freshwater loch.
• www.scotlandindex.net/kinlochbervie.htm local information and links
• www.kinlochbervie.org/
  website for the Kinlochbervie area of North West Sutherland, in the Highlands of Scotland
• Ridgeway-adventure.co.uk
• Freespiritklb.weebly.com
• Cocoamountain.co.uk