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Welcome to Melness.org.uk - A Home for every Melness Exile! |
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| Melness Home
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| Tourism
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The simplest way to get to Melness is by car. It is possible by Public Transport, however, this requires a great deal of patience, determination and a realisation that it may take you some time to accomplish. I have shown the main gateways, such as from Inverness, Thurso / Scrabster and Wick. Coming from abroad or the South, Inverness is the main gateway and you can fly into the Airport, take the Train, or the Bus Rapsons or Stagecoach to Thurso or drive to Melness. Click to go to the Maps Page! Email Iain
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Welcome to our Travel Information Page
Welcome
Swimming
Fishing
Pony Trecking
Golf
Walking Locally
Hill Walking
Car Trips
Other things to see and do
Welcome:
In the Tourism Section you will find information on how to get to Melness, Maps, What to see and do and local business and Bed and Breakfast as well as holiday Cottages to rent. Melness is a very pretty linear township on the North West Coast of Sutherland in Scotland of approximately 100 people. When you leave the main Tongue Durness road - A838 - you climb Melness braes, passing Melness House and Farm on the right and entering the village of Midtown followed by Skinnet.
Passing through Skinnet you will see the headland of Ard Skinnet on the right and the Rabbit Islands, in the far distance Island Roan can be seen.
The best view of the islands is from the pretty community of Talmine, which has the Post Office and Shop and the pier and slipway as well as the Caravan Site in Lower Talmine. Continuing through Talmine on the way to Midfield and Portvasgo you pass through Torrincudigan and Achinahuagh and finally coming to Achininver, Dalnafree and to the turning circle at West Strathan. A total of 7 miles from the cemetery to West Strathan.
Things to see and do:
Swimming:
Distance - about 19 miles from Melness
North Coast Leisure Centre, Bettyhill
Address: Bettyhill, KW14 7SS
Tel: 01641 521400
Activities available: Swimming Lessons, Spa, Sauna, Solarium, Fitness Suite, Aquaxercise.
The pool is available for hire at other times. Telephone for opening times and prices etc.
Fishing:
 Fishing - distance varies from the local loch - Loch a Mhuilinn to Lochs Loyal and Naver but all are withing easy reach of Melness. Click on the red links below for more information on the Hope and Borgie.
Fishing on Loch Hope
Fishing on the River Borgie
River Naver: Permits to fish the Association water on the River Naver can be purchased, on a first-come-first-served basis at The Store, Bettyhill, at a cost of around £20.
Tongue Angling Club
The Tongue and District Angling Club manages some great trout fishing on a number of excellent lochs, some with boats, and offers permits to visitors. In addition, the club offers permits for the sea-trout fishing in the tidal waters of the Kyle of Tongue.
Further information about lochs and permits from: Jean Sandison, Secretary, Tongue and District Angling Club, Loyal Lodge, Tongue, by Lairg, Sutherland. Tel: 01847 611291.
Permits available from: Ben Loyal Hotel, Main Street, Tongue. Tel: 01847 611216. Permits £6.00 per day, £20 per week, Boats £15.00 per day, Engines £12.00 per day.
 The following Lochs are available for fishing: Loch a Mhuilinn - Loch na h-Uaighe - Loch Riabhach - Loch na Beiste - Loch Fada - Loch nam Breac Buidhe - Loch Maol - Loch Craisg - Loch Chormaic - Loch Modsairidh - Loch Sgeireach - Loch an Tigh Choimhid - Loch Crocach - Loch Buidhe - Loch Bealach na Sgealachd - Loch Creagach - Loch Hacoln - Loch Crocach - Loch na Seilg - Loch a Ghobha Dhuibh - Loch an Dithreibh - Loch Chaluim - Loch Cuil na Sith - Loch Loyal.
Pony Trecking - distance 15 Miles
 Torrisdale Trekking
Lorna McKay
Ferryhouse
86 Invernaver
Bettyhill
KW14 7SG
Tel: (44) 01641 521472
Golf
There are two courses both a fair distance away. Click on the red links to visit the website for more information.
Reay Golf Course - 38 Miles
Durness Golf Club - 32 Miles
Walking:
Some walks in Melness:
1) from the Cemetery along the shore to Ard Skinnet - about 3 miles - easy walk along the shore but steep climb to Skinnet.
2) From Melness house to Loch a Mhuilinn - 1 mile - easy walk.
3) From Talmine to West Strathen - 2 miles - easy walk.
4) Skinnet to Ard Skinnet - about 1 mile - easy walk down and round the Ard but steep climb to return to Skinnet.
5) From the Pier to Port Vasgo - about 1.5 Miles - hard going in places and some dangerous spots!
Tongue:
 A signposted walk from Tongue is to Castle Varrich which sits on a small hill opposite the Village. At the top sit the the ruins of the 14th Century Castle Varrich. Caisteal Bharraich. It is believed that the Bishops of Caithness used it when moving between Scrabster and Balnakiel House near Durness. There is a recent pathway which give easy access to the top. The panoramic view from the summit is fantastic and Ben Loyal and Ben Hope are stunning as well as the view up the Kyle to the Rabbit Islands and a lovely view of Melness.
Maps and Photos to follow:
Hill walking / Climbing:
 There are several interesting mountains, including two "Munros," Ben Hope and Ben Clebrig. There is also the small hill above Melness which has an amazing Vista for its height - it is called Ben Hutig at 408 Metres or 1340 feet high Its meaning is Small Knoll. The Grid reference is NC5386465288 and the GPS: 58. 33.03.6 North - 4. 30.47.1 West and the map is from the OS Landranger Maps No. 10: Bettyhill & Tongue.
Ben Loyal
 meaning hill of the Elm tree is noted for its five peaks and is known as "The Queen" of Scottish Mountains.
The highest crag is An Caisteal Altitude and is a Corbett at 764 metres or 2506 Feet. The Grid reference is NC57804886 and the map is from the OS Landranger Maps - No. 10: Strathnaver, Bettyhill & Tongue.
GPS: 58. 24.17.6 North - 4. 26.06.1 West.
Ben Hope
 means Hill of the inlet or bay and is a Munro at 927 Metres or 3040 Feet in real money!
The Grid reference is NC47765017 and the map is from the OS Landranger Maps - No. 9: Cape Wrath, Durness & Scourie. GPS: 58. 24.47.8 North - 4. 36.29.5 West.
Ben Klibreck
 possibly means Hill of the Dog - Con in Gaelic means dog and is a Munro at 962 Metres or 3155 Feet.
The Grid Reference is NC58532990 and the maps is from the OS Landranger Maps - No. 16: Lairg & Loch Shin, Loch Naver. GPS: 58. 14 06.4 North - 4. 24.39.7 West.
All are within easy reach of Melness.
A useful site for all things about climbing in Scotland:
Scottish Climbing
When walking or climbing or doing anything in the Scottish Countryside it is worth knowing about the Country Code:
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code -- "Please remember Know the Code before you go. Enjoy, Respect and Protect". For more details:
Tel:SNH 01738 458545 or Outdoor Access Scotland
Car trips:
These are just a few suggestions for a car trip. The most important is the Strathnaver Trail - you need to allow a full day for this trip and sturdy boots. There is so much to explore that it would take a complete website to cover it all. It is best done from Altnaharrah driving through Strathnaver and following the trail - all very well marked and informative. - 66 miles round trip.
You should also visit the Strathnaver museum in Bettyhill which houses the Clan Mackay Centre: Strathnaver Museum
Another short run is to follow the old road round the Kyle of Tongue - about 18 miles round trip - you will get beautiful views of the Kyle and Ben Loyal.
A longer run is to take the Durness road, pausing to view Moine house and the view. Continue on and turn off at Hope and follow the very narrow single track road past Loch Hope and taking time to view Dun Dornaigil - a very well preserved Broch with a distinctive triangular Lintle.
Continue on driving carefully to Altnaharrah and then taking the Tongue Road back to Melness - 60 Mile round trip.
Durness is also a very good destination to visit - 31 miles: Click here to visit the Durness website Durness
Cape Wrath - 11 miles from Durness
Other things to do and see:
 The Melness area is a very diverse location with access to Bird Watching as well as exploring to find flora and fauna. Melness borders on the area is known as the Moine Schist which is world renowned for Geological studies. Boat Trips can be arranged to visit the islands or for sea angling - ask at the Craggan Hotel. As Melness has few street lights and little light pollution it is an ideal place to view the stars and planets as well as the Northern Lights and it was an excellent site for a past eclipse. The food in the local hotels is the freshest you can experience and is excellent and much of it locally produced. Another activity is Geocaching and there are a number of sites in and around Melness and Tongue, a page will follow eventually documenting those that I know about. In the meantime click here for more information: Geocaching Scotland
Church of Scotland:
 There is a Church of Scotland in Melness. It was built at the turn of the 20th century by local craftsmen to replace an earlier building at an adjacent site. The interior is totally wood lined. Sunday Service: 12.30pm (Holy Communion held twice yearly).
If you can suggest any other activities for inclusion on this page please let me know. Email Iain
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© Iain Morrison 2005 - 2009 - All Rights Reserved. |
Melness Home | About | Melness - Dr Coull | History | The Land | The Sea | Education |The Church | Stories | Trade | Photos | Links | Email Iain
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