Hidden Scotland
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Curious corners
in Sutherland.

It’s 20:54 in Sutherland.
Sutherland

A concrete hermitage and a toy cottage.

Sutherland's curiosities are small things set in a very big landscape. On a rocky headland at Achmelvich, near Lochinver, a tiny concrete 'castle' built in 1950 is so grey it is hard to tell from the rock. Further north, the curved bridge of 1984 at Kylesku sweeps over the narrows where a ferry once ran. At Lairg, a little white cottage with a red door sits on its own islet in Little Loch Shin. It was made for the village gala, though a poacher's tall tale has grown round it. The castle needs a short scramble over rock, so go carefully when it is wet.

Hermit's Castle→
Kylesku Bridge→
The Wee Hoose→
From our guide18 hours ago

Kylesku Bridge.

The Kylesku Bridge sweeps across the narrows of Loch a' Chairn Bhain in one long, graceful curve, and against the mountains it is a lovely thing to look at. It opened in 1984, replacing the ferries that had carried people across the narrows since the early 1800s. Stop at the car park on the north side for the best view, with Quinag rising behind. A cairn there remembers the crews of the midget submarines who trained in these waters during the Second World War. The lower car park on the south side shows off the bridge's slender V-shaped piers.

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Hermit's Castle.

A tiny concrete 'castle' built on a rocky headland at Achmelvich in 1950, long abandoned and one of the oddest buildings in Scotland.

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From our guideJust now

The Wee Hoose.

On a tiny islet in Little Loch Shin, right beside the road through Lairg, sits a little white cottage with a red door, two curtained windows and a chimney. The Wee Hoose is so small it looks like a toy, and it has become one of the best-loved sights in the north. A tall tale says a poacher built it in 1824 on an island the laird gave him for lessons in whisky making. The truth is gentler: it was made as a float for the Lairg Gala, and the village could not bear to throw it away. There is a free car park opposite.

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