Loch Eriboll

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Loch Eriboll.

Loch Eriboll is a 16km long sea loch (the only one) on the North Coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth. Its Norse name (meaning Home on a gravel beach) reveals the dominant culture of 1000 years ago though much earlier Bronze age remains can be found in the area, including a souterrain and a very well-preserved wheelhouse on the hillside above the west shore.

A small scale lime industry developed here in the 19th century, and until World War II the Royal Navy were frequent visitors. Port-na-Con, on the western shore of Loch Eriboll was where the company of the HMS Hood spent their last shore leave prior to the Battle of the Denmark Strait, and there are stones arranged by sailors into the names of their warships (including Hood and Amethyst) on the hillside above the village of Laid. It was nicknamed "Lock ’orrible" by the British servicemen stationed here during the war because of the often inclement weather. The largest island in the loch, Eilean Choraidh, was used for aerial bombing practice by the RAF, since it is about the same size and shape as a battleship. The surviving German U Boat navy formally surrendered here in 1945.

Today it is a largely unspoilt wilderness, in a region of high rainfall and the lowest population density in the UK.

External links

• [Panorama of Loch Eriboll] (QuickTime required)

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