Ardnamurchan Point
Ardnamurchan Point (Scottish Gaelic: Rubha Àird nam Murchan, meaning "the headland of the hill of the great sea") is a peninsula in Highland, Scotland where the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is situated.
Ardnamurchan Point | |
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Ardnamurchan Point | |
Coordinates: 56.726°N 6.224°W | |
Grid position | NM416674 |
Location | Highland, Scotland |
Location
Ardnamurchan Point lies at the western end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is located on the Point, just over 2/3 of a mile (1 km) north of Corrachadh Mòr, the most westerly point on the island of Great Britain, which is a few metres further west than the Point.[1] The nearest settlements are the crofting townships of Portuairk 1.2 miles (2 km) and Achosnich 1.8 miles (3 km), and the village of Kilchoan 5 miles (8 km).
The point lies seven miles south of the island of Muck, with Eigg and Rùm a few miles further to the north. Coll is situated nine miles to the west, and Mull is five miles south.
Cultural references
In 1990 the Scottish composer Judith Weir wrote a 10-minute piece for two pianos called Ardnamurchan Point for the pianists Edmund Niemann and Nurit Tilles.[2]
The location is one of the boundary points of the Inshore coastal areas of the United Kingdom, and is mentioned in the Shipping Forecast, broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point featured in an episode of the BBC TV series, Top Gear, as the destination of a race, where the drivers had to be first to the lighthouse and fit a new bulb. This was Series 30, episode 3.
'Gazing from Ardnamurchan Point to the Hebrides' is a poem composed by Leslie Wheeldon. It is in memory to his much loved wife Kitty. The text of the poem sits in a memorial stone at the summit of Bickerton Hill Cheshire. The memorial is known as Kitty's stone.
Notes
- "Ardnamurchan Point". Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
- "Ardnamurchan Point | Judith Weir". Wise Music Classical. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
External links
- Ardnamurchan Lighthouse - official site