ARDNAMURCHAN TO CAPE WRATH
Introduction
North from Ardnamuchan, the most westerly point on the mainland of Great Britain, the landscape becomes even more spectacular – a region often described as the most beautiful in Scotland. The contrasting islands of the Small Isles – Rhum, Eigg, Muck and Canna – lie south of what is perhaps the most famous island round the Scottish coastline – the Isle of Skye. Historically significant for it’s connection to the Jacobite uprising in 1745 and it’s connection to Bonnie Prince Charlie, the island with it’s towering Cullin mountains, certainly provides some of the country’s most dramatic scenery. These rocky crags, with the highest peak of Sgurr Alasdair at 992 metres, are visible from much of the area when visibility is good.
Further off shore, lying west of the Minch, an often stormy and difficult passage for the sea traffic sailing north and south around the Scottish mainland, lie the beautiful islands of the Outer Hebrides. Stretching from Barra Head in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north this long chain of around 65 islands is more than 110 miles from end to end. For more than four hundred years the islands were occupied by the Vikings before they became part of Scotland in 1266. On the west coast of many of these islands beautiful white coral sand beaches and the shallow aquamarine waters portray a vista more reminiscent of the Caribbean than Scotland.
Further west, some 40 miles into the Atlantic from the Uist coast, lie the mystical islands of St Kilda. These uninhabited rocky islands once supported a small hardy human population until their final evacuation in 1930. The ruins of the small village on Hirta still provide a remarkable reminder of the people who used to live there. The spectacular rocky scenery, including Conachair, at 427 metres, the highest sea cliff in Great Britain, make any visit to the islands worth the sometimes rough sea crossing to get there. 160 miles further west the edge of Britain is marked by Rockall, a small rocky outcrop rising less than 20 metres from the surface of the sea.
On the mainland coast, the sheltered anchorage at Loch Ewe became an important convoy mustering point for vessels arriving or leaving for the North Atlantic trade route or on the cold, perilous convoy voyages to and from Archangel and Murmansk in Russia. The north end of the region is marked by the rocky outcrop of Cape Wrath with it’s lighthouse built by Robert Stevenson and first lit in 1828. Here the coastline turns east towards the Pentland Firth and the islands of Orkney and Shetland.
Area Wreck Map
Wreck List
Adelaar – Amplify – Annie Jane – Apollo – Baron Ardrossan – Beacon Light – Bermuda – Birchol – Caribbean – Chadwick – Colonsay – Doris – Empire Homer – Etna – Fairweather V – Hersilia – Inflexible – Iolaire – Jambo – HMS Lively – Majorka – Manipur – Maple Branch – Michael Griffith – Nordhuk – Norge – Politician – Port Napier – R J Cullen – Rosa Maris – Seniority – Starfinch – Stassa – Thala – The Duchess – Urlana – Van Stabel – William H Welch
