Midfield is a remote

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

on the north coast of

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 ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

in the

Highland Council Area Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

. It is a mile south of Tormade Point and just over a mile north of

Talmine Talmine () was a town and commune in Charouine District, Adrar Province, in south-central Algeria. In 2019, the redistribution moved the larger Charouine District into the newly-created Timimoun Province. According to the 2008 census it has a po ...

and the Achininver Beach and said location's Lodge are located within Midfield. Midfield is 4 miles from the A838 and 5 miles from the larger settlement of

Tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

. Midfield is also labelled as a

crofting Crofting (Scottish Gaelic: ') is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were est ...

settlement according to the Gazetteer for Scotland. Midfield is a part of the

Melness Melness (Gaelic: Taobh Mhealanais) is a locality comprising a group of small remote crofting townships, lying to the west of Tongue Bay opposite Coldbackie, in the north coast of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands. It is in the Scottish council area ...

area.

Access

The settlement is far away from most decently sized streets and towns, with the nearest big road being the A9 nearly 40 miles away. The only access to the hamlet is by a small road that links to the A838 and passes through

and

; despite being on the coast, there is no proper nearby

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

access, with Port Vasgo within the hamlet not being anything more than a mere tourist attraction.

Etymology

The name comes from basic

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, quite literally meaning the middle of a field. Although potentially written as Middlefield at first, over time it would've been shortened to Midfield. Meanwhile, Achininver, the name of the nearby beach, comes from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

word Inbhir, which means the mouth of a river, meaning the mouth of the River Achin. Unlike most town names in

named after the river they sit on the mouth of such as

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, the word Inver comes after the river name.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Sutherland