Balnakeil is a hamlet in the parish of

Durness Durness ( gd, Diùranais) is a village and civil parish in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north coast of the country in the traditional county of Sutherland, around north of Inverness. The area is remote, and the parish is ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

, and is in the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

council area of

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

. It is on the north coast of Scotland around northwest of Durness. The ruins of Balnakeil Church are a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The

Kyle of Durness Kyle of Durness is a coastal inlet on the north coast of Scotland in the county of Sutherland. It extends inland from Balnakeil and divides the Cape Wrath peninsula from the mainland.Groome.F.H (1885) 'Parish of Durness', ''Ordnance Gazetteer ...

is west of Balnakeil which gives its name to the Balnakeil Bay which the Kyle opens into.Groome.F.H (1885) 'Parish of Durness', ''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical'',
available online
. Retrieved 2013-02-20. The

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

Faraid Head Faraid Head ( gd, An Fharaird) is a small peninsula on the northern coast of Sutherland, Highland, Scotland, located around north of the hamlet of Balnakeil and north of Durness. At the point is located a small radar station built in the 1950 ...

is to the north of Balnakeil. It was the site of a 1950s

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

station and remains the range control for

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

bombing operations in the

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...

Training Area to the west.RAF Faraid Head ('RAI') CEW R10 ROTOR Radar station
Subterranea Britannica, 2004-06-15. Retrieved 2013-02-20. Three small lochs are to the south of Balnakeil: Loch Croispol, Loch Borralie and Loch Caladail. Durness Golf Course is to the southwest.Loch Borralie, Kyle of Durness
Historic Scotland, 2003. Retrieved 2013-02-20.

References

Populated places in Sutherland

Balnakeil Balnakeil is a hamlet in the parish of Durness, Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. It is on the north coast of Scotland around northwest of Durness. The ruins of Balnakeil Church are a scheduled ...

{{Highland-geo-stub

See also

References