Kyle of Durness

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Kyle of Durness, an elongated bay or narrow firth in Durness parish, Sutherland, separating the district of Durness proper from the district of Parf. Receiving at its head the river Dionard, it goes 5½ miles northward to Durness or Baile na Cille Bay (1⁷/₈ x 1½ to 2 miles); itself has a varying width of 2½ and 6½ furlongs, and is barred by a series of shallows which frequently shift their position. It becomes so nearly bare at ebb tide as then to appear little else than an expanse of sand; seems to be gradually filling up with silt and débris brought down by the Dionard and some lateral streamlets; and is little visited by vessels either for commerce or for shelter.—Ord. Sur., sh. 114, 1880.

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Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer