| Gaelic name | Latharn a' Phuill |
|---|---|
| Static image name | Latheronwheel Harbour.jpg |
| Coordinates | 58.27754°N 3.37424°W |
| Os grid reference | ND195329 |
| Unitary scotland | Highland |
| Lieutenancy scotland | Caithness |
| Country | Scotland |
| Post town | LATHERON |
| Postcode area | KW |
| Postcode district | KW5 |
| Dial code | 01593 |
| Constituency westminster | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
| Constituency scottish parliament | Caithness, Sutherland and Ross |
Latheronwheel ()[1] is a small village in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland.[2]It is 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Lybster on the A9 road[3] to Helmsdale, near the junction with the A99 road to Wick, which lies in the equally small village of Latheron. Dunbeath lies to the south-west and Lybster to the north-east.
The village is at the mouth of a wide valley, through which flows a small river called the Burn of Latheronwheel.
History
The settlement was built on the land of one Captain Dunbar (who had actually wished for it to be called Janetston, after his wife and a stone tablet reflects this on the old hotel).[2] It was a planned settlement, begun in 1835 with the building of a hotel (then known as 'Dunbar's Hotel' but today as 'The Blends' - due to its proprietor in the 1890s penchant for blending whisky from stills of dubious legality).[2] In the beginning, tenants of the settlement were allocated 2 acres (8,100 m2) and the right to fish from the harbour.[2]
The harbour was constructed around 1840, with a small lighthouse (soon disused) built on the southern headland. The nearby Latheronwheel harbour bridge is much older, dating to the 1720s and was the crossing for the old coast road.[2] The bridge is open to pedestrians.
At one time the harbour was the home of 50 boats although few now remain.[2] Initially salmon was caught, but this gave way to herring. As the herring trade became more concentrated in larger ports in the years before the First World War, the catch and the number of vessels in use in Latheronwheel declined:
References
- ^ Gaelic and Norse in the Landscape: Placenames in Caithness and Sutherland Archived 21 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Scottish National Heritage.
- ^ Tait, Charles (2017). The North Coast 500 Guide Book. p. 135-136. ISBN 978-1909036604.
- ^ "Scothighlands - Drive from Scrabster to Latheronwheel, Scotland". www.scothighlands.com. Retrieved 2019-11-22.