Clais Charnach
Milestone (19th Century)
Site Name Clais Charnach
Classification Milestone (19th Century)
Canmore ID 295071
Site Number NC27SE 22
NGR NC 26975 72907
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/295071
- Council Highland
- Parish Durness
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Sutherland
- Former County Sutherland
Field Visit (2008)
NC27SE 22 NC 26975 72907
This milestone is situated in peaty moorland, on the N side of the public road (NC27SE 41) that links a slipway on the Kyle of Durness (NC 3708 6603) to the lighthouse (NC27SE 3.00) at Cape Wrath. Rectangular in section, the roughly shaped granite block measures 0.28m in breadth by 0.15m in thickness and 0.54m in height. The front face, which has been roughly dressed, has been painted white and the incised number two, denoting the distance in miles to the lighthouse, has been painted black.
The exact date that the milestone was erected is not known, but it was probably soon after the road was adopted as a public highway in 1833 and it was certainly in place by 1874, when it was surveyed for the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Sutherland 1878, sheet I). A local tradition that the milestones along the 11 mile length of the road were fabricated by lighthouse keepers cannot be substantiated, but it would provide an explanation why there is a variation in their respective designs and dimensions.
(CWTC08 270)
Visited by RCAHMS (AL, IP) 11 August 2008.
