Durness

History at Every Turn

It doesn’t take long for visitors to Durness to get a sense of the spirit of the village through its vast history. Durness and its environs have been inhabited since the Neolithic, with evidence of thousands of years of human activity at Smoo, Glassknapper’s, Antler and Wetweather Caves. The position of the nearby Loch Eriboll served as a port of call for the Viking fleet of King Haakon of Norway en route to the Battle of Largs – a battle which would lead to the end of Viking rule in Scotland. Fast forward over 600 years later, the loch would also see the surrender of 33 German U-boats resulting in the end of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Just a stone’s throw away at Ceannabeinne, translated as the ‘end of the mountains’, discover the moving story of an abandoned village and the incredible history behind the 19th century Durness Riots – heroic acts of local resistance to the appalling acts of the Highland Clearances.

The parish of Durness was also the birthplace and burial place of 18th century poet Rob Donn. Known as ‘brown-haired Rob’ and the ‘Reay Gaelic Bard’, Donn’s works are still highly regarded in Gaelic literature. Two centuries later, famous Beatle John Lennon frequented Durness from the age of 9 on family holidays to Sangomore. He would return to visit the village in 1969 with his wife Yoko Ono and their son Julian and Ono’s daughter, Kyoko. Created in his memory, the John Lennon Memorial Garden, in the grounds of Durness Village Hall, are a perfect spot to unwind surrounded by nature.