Corrachadh Mòr

Corrachadh Mòr is a rugged headland on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula in the Highland region of west Scotland. It lies about a kilometre south of Ardnamurchan Point, the usual westernmost marker. The name comes from Scottish Gaelic and means ‘great, tapering field’. According to the coordinates used, it is either 31 or 43 metres further west than Ardnamurchan Point. Great Britain’s most westerly point is therefore not the famous Land’s End in Cornwall but this quiet headland. The headland’s position makes it a geographical landmark of national importance. It sits 37 kilometres further west than Land’s End, showing how far north-west Scotland reaches into the Atlantic. Visitors stand on ground that is the western edge of the island of Great Britain. The contrast with the busy tourist crowds at Land’s End is striking. A narrow track leads across rough grassland to the headland’s tip. There is no large building or monument, only open sky and sea. The view stretches west across the Minch to the Outer Hebrides. On clear days the islands of Rum, Eigg and Muck appear on the horizon. The wind carries the sound of waves breaking on nearby rocks. It is a place where the scale of the landscape feels unconfined by human limits.