Lairg in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom — Northwestern Europe (the British Isles)

Ceannabeinne

Photographed by Michael Herrick, August 30, 2018

1. Ceannabeinne Marker

Inscription. Ceannabeinne
Ceann na Bienne Ceannabeinne is the township at the end of a chain of hills stretching north from Cranstackie (801 m). The area divides Loch Eriboll from the Kyle of Durness. The pink coloured rock is Lewisian gneiss, commonly found in North West Sutherland. It is often overlain with peat which produces wet, boggy unfertile land. The boulders strewn across the landscape were deposited here when the ice that covered the land melted away some 10,000 years ago. Contrast this with the greenness of the offshore island, Eilean Hoan, an outcrop of Durness limestone, the same spectacular rock as the impressive Smoo Cave 2km to the west of here.

The golden sandy beach here is known as Tràigh Allt Chailgeag or the ‘Beach of the Burn of the Old Woman’. Legend has it that an old woman was gathering peat to take home for her fire. As she drank from the swollen burn, she stumbled and fell in. Her body was carried downstream to the beach where it was found the next day.

The remains that you can see, just up the hill, were once the small farm of ‘Clais Charnach’. The white cottage, overlooking the beach was built in 1827 and was once Ceannabeinne School serving the neighbouring community. In 1842 all the homes in this area were forcibly cleared of people to make way for sheep farming. This led to

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a series of events known as the Durness Riots. Discover more about these events on the Ceannabeinne Township Trail, 1km west of here.

Erected 2009 by The Highland Council Planning and Development Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1827.

Location. 58° 32.875′ N, 4° 40.596′ W. Marker is in Lairg, Scotland, in Highland. It is on Scotland Route A838 43.4 kilometers west of Route A836, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lairg, Scotland IV27 4QE, United Kingdom. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Scotland’s Highlands.

Globally, it is in the Atlantic Ocean,

in the North Atlantic Region,

on the Atlantic Arc,

in Europe,

on the Celtic Fringe,

in Atlantic Europe,

on one of the British Isles,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 6 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Ceannabeinne Township Trail (approx. 0.8 kilometers away); a different marker also named Ceannabeinne Township Trail (approx. 0.8 kilometers away); Durness War Memorial (approx. 4.7 kilometers away); Durness (approx. 4.7 kilometers away); Stories in sand (approx. 5.9 kilometers away); Keoldale Green (approx. 5.9 kilometers away).

Also see . . . Ceannabeinne on Wikipedia. (Submitted on December 26, 2018, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)

Photographed by Michael Herrick, August 30, 2018

2. Ceannabeinne Marker

Ceannabeinne image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Michael Herrick, August 30, 2018

3. Ceannabeinne

Tràigh Allt Chailgeag or the ‘Beach of the Burn of the Old Woman’.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 27, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 26, 2018, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 421 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 26, 2018, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.