"Take the High Road" Durness by Maxus

Durness Travel Guide: 40 reviews and 108 photos

The West Coast Road to Durness - Durness

The Highlands

Most visitors agree that the scenery in the Highlands is amongst the best in Europe but travellers sometimes miss the very best that Scotland has to offer because it is so far to the north. It is difficult to describe the staggeringly beautiful and unspoiled landscapes of Caithness and Sutherland, you really need to get into a car and go there.

You can take one of Britains most scenic train journeys as far as Thurso but the very best of the Scottish Highlands and coastline is arguably to the west of here and to reach it you really need your own (reliable) transport.

Durness

The campsite at Durness

There are hotels dotted along the route or you can take a tent, the campsite at Durness has good facilities, including a hot showers, a laundry and campers kitchen to cook and eat you food if the weather is at its worst. The village has a pub, shops, petrol, ATM and tourist information.

Whether you camp or stay in the hotel the village of Durness is a perfect base to explore this part of the world.

Allow at least a full day to get here from Glasgow or Edinburgh, Durness is a few hours drive west of Thurso or north of Ullapool depending on which way you approach, you can travel up one side of Scotland then back down the other.

The Sutherland Coast

Durness Beach

Like the mountains, the coastline is staggeringly beautiful with some of the greatest sunsets anywhere on earth.

Pros and Cons

Pros:The Isolation and Breathtaking Scenery
Cons:The Changable Weather
In a nutshell:its another world

Last visit to Durness: Apr 2006
Intro Updated Apr 23, 2006
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uglyscot Apr 10, 2007 at 12:48 AM

Agree with all you say about this part of Scotland. I almost took a job as THE teacher at the school there back in the 6os, but my mother wouldn't let me go with an infant and a toddler in tow, especially in the winter. Opportunity lost.
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globetrott Oct 16, 2006 at 4:49 AM

lovely pics bringing back a lot of great memeories of these sandy beaches in the north of the Highlands. You may drive there for hours without seeing another car, its a pity most people miss it !