Ardnamurchan Point (, meaning "the headland of the hill of the great sea") is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

where the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is situated.

Location

Ardnamurchan Point lies at the western end of the

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, ) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access route being a single track road for much of its l ...

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

. Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is located on the Point, just over 2/3 of a mile (1 km) north of

Corrachadh Mòr is a headland on the Peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, west of Scotland. Notable for being the most westerly point on the island of Great Britain, it is further west than Land's End in Cornwall.

, the most westerly point on the island of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, which is a few metres further west than the Point. The nearest settlements are the crofting townships of Portuairk 1.2 miles (2 km) and Achosnich 1.8 miles (3 km), and the village of

Kilchoan Kilchoan () is a village on the Scotland, Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, Britain, although several tiny ha ...

5 miles (8 km). The point lies seven miles south of the island of Muck, with

Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...

and

Rùm Rùm (), a Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic name often Anglicisation, anglicised to Rum ( ), is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland, in the district of Lochaber. For much of the 20th century the ...

a few miles further to the north.

Coll Coll (; )Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull and northeast of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and fo ...

is situated nine miles to the west, and Mull is five miles south.

Cultural references

In 1990 the Scottish composer Judith Weir wrote a 10-minute piece for two pianos called ''Ardnamurchan Point'' for the pianists Edmund Niemann and Nurit Tilles. The location is one of the boundary points of the

Inshore coastal areas of the United Kingdom {{Short description, Coastlines used in weather forecasting The inshore coastal areas of the United Kingdom are 15 fixed stretches of coastline that are used in weather forecasting especially for wind-powered or small coastal craft. Each area is ...

, and is mentioned in the

Shipping Forecast The ''Shipping Forecast'' is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The for ...

, broadcast by

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

on behalf of the

Maritime and Coastguard Agency The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that is responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent mar ...

. The lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point featured in an episode of the BBC TV series, ''Top Gear'', as the destination of a race, where the drivers had to be first to the lighthouse and fit a new bulb. This was Series 30, episode 3. 'Gazing from Ardnamurchan Point to the Hebrides' is a poem composed by Leslie Wheeldon. It is in memory to his much loved wife Kitty. The text of the poem sits in a memorial stone at the summit of Bickerton Hill Cheshire. The memorial is known as Kitty's stone.

Notes

External links

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse
- official site {{Authority control Headlands of Scotland Ardnamurchan