Roadtrip 2011; Durness

The coastal village of Durness in NW Scotland is stunning, and one of my favourite places...
Driving along singletrack roads from Laxford Bridge you are greeted by miles of tidal mud and sand in the bay...someone mention cycling on sand?...






In the village there is Petrol, Spar shop and there is a cliff top campsite,
At £6.20 per night per person camping its a bargain,and clean heated shower rooms too...


And below the cliffs are sheltered coves with white sand and a turquoise sea...










Near the campsite is a bar/restaurant and craft shop and visitor centre...










Mid Summer you can sit up on a clear evening and watch the Sunset at 11pm...


Then it doesn't really get dark then the sun rises about 3am...


To the East of the village is Smoo cave...




A unique cave in the UK as the first chamber has been formed by the action of the sea, whereas the inner chambers are freshwater passages,
Partway through the cave the waters of the Allt Smoo burn also drop in as a 20m high waterfall...

































Between Smoo cave and Sango Bay at Durness is a Headland which during WW2 was a Chain Home Radar base...






You can read about Sango Chain Home Radar Base and see more pictures here on the other blog; No Through Road...

West of the village is Balnakeil Craft Village...






It is the formar RAF Balnakeil which was built in the 1950s in conjunction with a small radar station built on the nearby penulsia to house a ROTOR radar system to provide radar coverage of Scotland's north coast during the early years of the Cold War.

There are Cafes and Arists studios...
















Nice cup of Hot Chocolate from here...




I met and spoke to Ludo in his Woodwind workshop, what a lovely Studio...






Behind the craft Village is a Cold War ROC monitering Post,
Asking around the present owner uses it for storage...




Down the Road from the craft village near the coast and penulsia is Balnakeil House and an old Churchyard with ruin...


Interesting carvings in the ruin church...














Then there is the view out across the Penulsia of Faraid Head;
The largest sand dunes in the British Isles...