View of the old Ferry House, Harbour and Lime Kilns, Ard Neackie Peninsula on Loch Eriboll, Sutherland, Scottish Highlands
A small scale lime industry developed here in the 19th century, and until World War II the Royal Navy were frequent visitors. Portnancon, on the western shore of Loch Eriboll was where the company of the HMS Hood spent their last shore leave prior to the Battle of the Denmark Strait, and there are stones arranged by sailors into the names of their warships (including Hood and Amethyst) on the hillside above the hamlet of Laid. It was nicknamed "Lock ’orrible" by the British servicemen stationed here during the war because of the often inclement weather. The largest island in the loch, Eilean Choraidh, was used for aerial bombing practice by the RAF, since it is about the same size and shape as a battleship. The surviving German U Boat navy formally surrendered here in 1945. Loch Eriboll's most intriguing and attractive feature is Ard Neakie. This is a mound of land prevented from becoming an island by an umbilical cord of sand and shingle linking it to the east shore of the loch where the Tongue road descends from the moorland to the east. Ard Neakie was used as the terminus of the Heilam Ferry, which crossed the loch to the - now gone - Heilam Inn on the west bank of the loch at Portnancon. The ferry ceased operation in the 1890s when the road around the loch was completed, but the ferry house built in 1831 still stands, though sadly increasingly derelict. Ard Neakie is also notable for the four large lime kilns built in 1870. The Reay estate produced large amounts of lime here and on the nearby island of Eilean Choraidh and loaded it into ships.
Size: 5816px × 3992px
Location: Loch Eriboll, North West Sutherland, Scotland
Photo credit: © Ian Rutherford / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 500, anchorage, ard, choraidh, coast, deep, eilean, eriboll, firth, heilam, highlands, kilns, landscape, lime, loch, nc, nc500, neackie, north, peninsula, pentland, picturesque, rain, route, scenic, scotland, scottish, sea, sunshine, sutherland, uk, undiscovered, viewpoint, water, weather, west
