🏘️ Village
Durness
📍 Sutherland
⏱ Full day
🆓 Free entry
🚐 Motorhome friendly
Durness is the most northwesterly village on the British mainland, a scattered community of crofts and whitewashed buildings above dramatic cliffs and beaches. Despite its remoteness, it offers a surprising range of things to see and do: the expansive beaches at Sango Bay and Balnakeil are spectacular; the nearby craft village at Balnakeil occupies a former military installation and has a excellent chocolate maker, bookshop, and artists' studios; and it's the jumping-off point for the Cape Wrath peninsula. John Lennon spent childhood holidays here with his uncle, and there is a small memorial garden in the village. The community's spirit and welcome are remarkable given how far from everywhere else it is.
Drive west on the A838 from the A836 junction at Tongue (35 miles) or take the scenic A894 north from Kylesku (35 miles). The road from Scourie via Rhiconich is spectacular.