Skarfskerry (or Scarfskerry; ) is a settlement located in the far northern county

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

on a small peninsula northeast of

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

off the

A836 The A836 is a major road entirely within the Highland area of Scotland. It is long and runs from Ross and Cromarty to Caithness, with the majority of its length in Sutherland. At 58.648°N where it passes through East Mey, it is the northernm ...

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 ...

. It is the most northerly settlement in

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 ...

. The name comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

for " cormorants' rock". Historically, it belonged to the Parish of

Dunnet Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet. Village The village centres on the A836– B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats in the east and toward Thurso and ...

, along with Brough.

Landmarks

This rural settlement consists of a scattering of crofts and other houses and a small harbour with a pier. The harbour is no longer used for commercial purposes, although boats operate in the area for small amounts of fishing and trips for tourists to see

white-beaked dolphin The white-beaked dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus albirostris'') is a marine mammal belonging to the family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) in the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Taxonomy The species was first described by the British taxonomist ...

minke whale The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish na ...

s and

harbor porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...

s. The pier, about long, has a small bight on the southwestern side, and a rocky beach continues towards the nearby settlement of

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

. The hamlet also contains a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church, Skarfskerry Point, a double-headed point in height, marks the eastern entrance point of Brough Bay. The

Loch of Mey Loch of Mey is a loch near the north coast of Caithness, Scotland, and one of the most northern water features of mainland Britain. It lies just to the south of Skarfskerry, and southwest of Harrow, Caithness, Harrow. Described as a "shallow ephem ...

lies just to the southeast, which also features in a series of children's stories, ''The Loch of Mey Monster'', by a local author from 2007 to 2009. Scarfskerry Harbour is also home to the wreck of the SS ''Linkmoor'', of London, Captain Ridley. Liverpool to Blyth. It was lost on 10 November 1930 at 2:55 a.m. during a westerly

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

of force 8–9 in heavy sea and squalls. It was caused by engine trouble and the state of the weather, with 32 on board who were all saved. The SS ''Linkmoor'' is a favourite "shore" dive site for local divers and is often used as a training dive, which is best dived in winter due to the shallow nature of the wreckage being obscured by kelp. The boilers actually stood proud of the water until they finally succumbed to the waters during a storm in the 1990s. A few hundred metres west of the harbour lies the wreck of the SS ''Victoria''. Situated between the harbour and Ruther Geo, this wreck was lost on 3 March 1891. The crew were rescued by Longhope Lifeboat, who rowed for 10 hours across the Pentland Firth to rescue the crew. An

RNLI Silver Medal A number of awards have been established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) since its creation in 1824. None are approved by the Crown, and are therefore unofficial awards. As such, they do not appear in the official British order ...

was awarded to Coxswain Benjamin Stout in recognition of his gallantry when rescuing the crew of 22. Eleven of the rescued crew were Germans, and the Emperor of Germany presented a gold watch to the coxswain and £24 to the crew of the lifeboat. In 1996, a fisherman's pattern anchor from the SS ''Victoria'' was raised by Thurso Sub Aqua Club (TSAC), and whilst residing for several years at a property in Scarfskerry was later presented by TSAC to Longhope Lifeboat station as a mark of respect for the heroic work carried out by the RNLI on a daily basis. The ''Victoria'' is also a popular dive site by local divers, but as with the ''Linkmoor'' is best dived during the winter months. Still present on the site are several anchors and slabs of packed stones, believed to be used for ballast. File:Scarfskerry Pottery - geograph.org.uk - 253538.jpg, Scarfskerry Pottery (relocated to John O'Groats in 1986) File:Scarfskerry Baptist Church - geograph.org.uk - 225523.jpg, The Baptist Church File:Farmland near Scarfskerry, Caithness - geograph.org.uk - 106945.jpg, Farmland near Skarfskerry, Caithness File:Geo, Scarfskerry, Caithness - geograph.org.uk - 106881.jpg, Local scenery

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Caithness Ports and harbours of Scotland

Landmarks

See also

References