Cape Wrath | The Turning Point

It is a rare sunny warm day in northwest Scotland. The wind built later this afternoon, but no bother as we're snugly tied up at the dock in the lovely village of Lochinver. We arrived in the early afternoon from Kinlochbervie which lies about 30 nautical miles to the north. Our path more or less followed the coastline, giving us peeks of cliffs and spires through the fog. The landscape is quite different from the low lying Orkney Islands (like sailing through eastern Washington fields), the dramatic and fertile Fair Isle, and the more fragile feeling Shetland Islands. Here, on the Scottish west coast, the rock dominates, grey, rounded, and veined with green vegetation with an occasional shock of red sandstone. Not far in the distance inland are higher ridges and old cinder cones, remnants from bygone geological times. It is a stunning place.

At the northwest corner of the Scottish mainland lies Cape Wrath, an impressive cliff plunging into the sea. The name inspires fear and respect, and for good reason. The name, however, derives from an old Norse word (hvarf) meaning 'turning point.' While the current name seems apt, it is comforting to know that it is also simply directional, as in 'turn left here.' Fortunately for us, our experience was closer to the latter meaning; we turned around the cape under mostly sunny skies with low clouds clinging to the cliffs.

Cape Wrath, Scotland

We will continue to make our way down the Scottish west coast, around the Isles of Skye and Mull, and possibly with a brief stop in at the Hebrides. Our time here only limited by the need to get to Ireland where we'll meet Joan. We'll try to post photos soon (of which we have many, but none seem to really capture the place). And we'll try to make time to say more about the Shetlands, Fair Isle, and the Orkneys. They are really due some space, but sometimes it is difficult to thoroughly chronicle our travels when there is a rare Scottish wood to walk...