What to See

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What to See

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Animals Archaeological Sites Beaches Flowers Harbour Peat-cutting

In or by the sea from time to time it is possible to view otters, seals, dolphins, porpoises, killer whales and basking sharks. On the land, there are foxes and badgers as well as other smaller mammals, and in wet areas, frogs and toads. It is quite common to see red deer by the roadsides, especially in the winter months.

Archaeological Sites

If you take the path along the side of the Church of Scotland building at the end of Manse Road, go through the gate in the dry stone wall to your right, and well before you reach the next gate across the path go up the hill a little, you will find the remains of an prehistoric round house. In other inland parts you may find ancient cairns marking routes, or the remains of sheilings (shelters used in summer when the cattle were taken into the hills).

Beaches

Rocky shores form much of the coastline, but there are also some wonderful sandy bays. The white sands at Polin, Sheigra, Oldshoremore and Sandwood are formed from eroded sandstone and seashells. The water is beautifully clear. The adjacent sand dunes are covered with marram grass which traps the sand enabling the dunes to build up and not become eroded by the effects of wind and water. Between the beaches of Oldshoremore and Polin there is rough pasture where there lies an unmarked burial plot believed to be for the crew and passengers of a ship wrecked sometime in the nineteenth century on 'Eilean an Hatchie'.

Polin beach

Flowers

The landscape all year round is clothed in a carpet of grasses, ferns, mosses and heathers, in hues of yellow, brown and green, changing in strength according to the different seasons - while protruding from this are the rocks, in shades of grey, rounded and sculpted by the ice. In spring the bright yellow of the gorse is prominent, then the green of the fresh new grass and ferns, then the purple of the heather, followed by the rich brown of the grass and ferns dying back. Within this tapestry, are various pockets of wild flowers.

The coastal cliffs and headlands form a natural rockery where primrose, roseroot, thrift, bladder campion, mountain avens, marram grass, violets and spring squills may be found. On the machair (the sandy grassland inland from the beaches), there are over 200 different species of flowering plants. These include scabious, bluebell, bedstraw, cinquefoil, yarrow, silverweed, gentian, cranesbill, marsh orchid and early purple orchid. Along the burns you may see marsh marigold, lady's smock, primrose, globeflower, meadow sweet and violets.

There are some small areas of woodland where celandine, primrose, wood anemone, stitchwort and wild garlic grow. The indigenous trees are willow, rowan, birch, aspen, hazel and holly. Their growth has been restricted by the grazing of sheep, poor soil and strong winds. Many other species have been brought in which grow well, but they do not achieve a great height.

On drier land you may find coltsfoot, ragged robin and red campion. Rose bay willow herb has recently made an appearance. There are also many species of grass. In boggy areas, there is bog asphodel, woundwort, bog myrtle, milkwort, lousewort, cotton grass, hare's tail, heathers, ferns and various species of rush. Sphagnum moss, which holds huge amounts of water in its spongy leaves, is common. The insectivorous sundew and butterwort are also present, they increase their intake of nutrients by catching insects on their sticky leaves. In the lochans, there are species of rush, spearwort, water lobelia, and bogbeans. More lochans are now being populated by water lily, the seeds travelling quite a distance.

There are some garden escapes, such as alchemilla mollis, but the most striking is lysichitan, or skunk cabbage, whose flowers in the springtime are absolutely stunning.

Harbour

Kinlochbervie harbour is a safe and welcoming port and is set within some of the most dramatic land and seascapes in Britain. It was initially developed in the late 1940s to counteract rural economic decline. The original pier was at Loch Clash and remained there until the early 1970s when its present location at Loch Bervie was developed. From 1980 onwards, fishing in the sea areas closest to Kinlochbervie boomed, and the fleet of boats, mainly from the east coast of Scotland, grew to a peak of 70 trawlers in the mid-1980s. Although the number of vessels has declined in recent years, the overall fleet is made up of a modern class of vessel which has diversified into new species caught in deeper water. There has also been an increase in the local shellfish creel fleet and the addition of state of the art vessels to this fishery has improved the landings. The main species caught by white fish trawlers are monkfish, haddock, cod, whiting and skate. The main shellfish fishery consists of lobsters, prawns, crabs and velvet crabs. Most days fish is landed at the pier and markets are usually held two or three times a week in the main auction hall which tourists can visit. The fish and shellfish are transported either to the east coast for processing or shipped directly to continental markets.

Kinlochbervie harbour has itself in recent times diversified and there is now a thriving import trade from the Faroe Islands. Faroese trawlers bring in fish to the market and there is also the import of Faroese fish food for the salmon farming industry which is held in a custom made facility for onward distribution to fish farms throughout Scotland.

Kinlochbervie harbour has excellent facilities for visiting yachtsmen and cruisers, including fuelling and bunkering with cafe and toilet facilities nearby, and local restaurants serving locally caught fish within walking distance of the berths. The Fishermen's Mission is situated at the harbour. It is primarily there to serve the needs of the fishing fleet operating from Kinlochbervie. It provides a canteen (serving reputedly the best fish and chips on the west coast) and shower facilities for the men while in port. Visitors are warmly welcomed.

Peatcutting

Much of the ground flattened by the effects of the Ice Age is now waterlogged peatland. Peat forms in cool, wet areas when dead plants only partly decompose. Over the course of thousands of years a deep layer of peat builds up at a very slow rate (possibly only about 1mm per year). The peat roads were specially constructed to allow easy access to good areas for cutting peat. Each family was allocated their own peat bank to cut. Traditionally this peat was then burnt as a fuel in homes for heating and cooking, but the practice is now far from commonplace.

Peat cutting commonly involves the use of 3 tools: the tusker, the rutter and the flaughter. The rutter is used to make vertical cuts along the top of the peat bank to determine the width of the area to be cut. The flaughter, a flat spade, is used to slice off the top layer of vegetation from the peat bank before cutting can begin. The turf so removed is then placed neatly at the bottom of the bank, vegetation side up, to cover over the area cut the previous year. The tusker has a step attached to the handle at right angles to the cutting edge, so that the foot can be used to help push the blade into the peat. The peat is then broken away by a twist of the tusker, and a second person, the thrower, takes hold of the peat from below and throws it on to the top of the peat bank to dry.

Depending on weather conditions, peat cutting may take place between April and June. There then follows the lengthy drying process over several weeks. Once one side of the peats is dry, they are usually stacked in fours in such a way as to allow each damp side to be exposed to the drying effects of the wind. Later the peats are re-stacked into larger heaps for further drying until they are ready to take home.

The easiest place to spot peat banks, and at the right time of year peats that have been cut, is by the roadside between Rhiconich and Durness.