Sandwood Bay
In the north-west coast of Sutherland lies the beautiful Sandwood Bay which is often said to be one of the most beautiful in the British Isles. It has impressive dunes , long stretches of sandy beach and, at one end, the sea stack called Am Buachaille. Cape Wrath the north-westerly point of the British mainland lies approximately five miles north. Just behind the bay, inland, is the freshwater Sandwood Loch.
Its remote, isolated beauty has given rise to many legends including sightings of a mermaid sitting on the rocks. However, one of the most well-documented stories of Sandwood Bay and the Sandwood Cottage is that of a ghostly sailor. It is said he was the victim of shipwreck and there were, indeed, many ships lost in the bay before the construction of the Cape Wrath lighthouse in 1828.
It has been said by the author Seton Gordon and others that many of the shipwrecks lie buried under the sands. In 1935, in his book, Highways & Byways in the West Highlands, he recorded that he was:
Its remote, isolated beauty has given rise to many legends including sightings of a mermaid sitting on the rocks. However, one of the most well-documented stories of Sandwood Bay and the Sandwood Cottage is that of a ghostly sailor. It is said he was the victim of shipwreck and there were, indeed, many ships lost in the bay before the construction of the Cape Wrath lighthouse in 1828.
It has been said by the author Seton Gordon and others that many of the shipwrecks lie buried under the sands. In 1935, in his book, Highways & Byways in the West Highlands, he recorded that he was:
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"astonished at the number of wrecks which lie on the fine sands of this bay. All of them tragedies: since the placing of a lighthouse at Cape Wrath just over a hundred years, no vessel has been lost here. Some of the vessels lie almost buried in the sand far above the reach of the highest tide".
Seton Gordon also suggested that there may have been Viking longboats buried there too as Sandwood Bay was a stopping point for them a thousand years ago.
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There is also the ruin of a fisherman's hut at the promontory called Rugha nan Cúl Gheodhachan. Once, a group of fishermen from Droman and Polin landed on Sandwood beach and left their fishing gear at the hut. Whilst the others walked home, one man remained at Sandwood and that evening when baking oatcakes at the hut, he heard heavy footsteps on the shingle outside. A tall, dark man dressed as a sailor entered the hut and muttered something at the fisherman. Legend has it that the two men fought all night until, at first light, the sailor vanished. The fisherman convinced he had been in the company of a ghost. Another fisherman staying in the hut was similarly visited but he made the sign of the Cross and asked God's assistance and protection and with that the sailor turned in the doorway and disappeared.
Two other men, William MacLeod and George Mackay were at Sandwood in search of missing sheep. It was a bright, moonlight evening. As they crossed the bay they became aware of driftwood being washed ashore. Halfway down the beach they were joined by Sandy Gunn (who was lived at Sandwood and was well-known for having the sight). The three of them saw a man standing between the sand and the rocks and, think they recognised him as someone from Polin, went towards him. They all became aware of something strange and uncanny. He was big, whiskered and appeared not quite real. As they approached he simply vanished. Two weeks later an Irish fishing boat was wrecked and one of the crew's bodies was washed ashore at Sandwood. It was the man Sandy, William and George had seen on the beach that night.
Two other men, William MacLeod and George Mackay were at Sandwood in search of missing sheep. It was a bright, moonlight evening. As they crossed the bay they became aware of driftwood being washed ashore. Halfway down the beach they were joined by Sandy Gunn (who was lived at Sandwood and was well-known for having the sight). The three of them saw a man standing between the sand and the rocks and, think they recognised him as someone from Polin, went towards him. They all became aware of something strange and uncanny. He was big, whiskered and appeared not quite real. As they approached he simply vanished. Two weeks later an Irish fishing boat was wrecked and one of the crew's bodies was washed ashore at Sandwood. It was the man Sandy, William and George had seen on the beach that night.
In 1949, a fishing party saw a sailor in the dunes and sent their gillie to find out who he was. The gillie returned saying there was no one there and not a single footstep in the sand. Four years later, in 1953, a group of visitors from Edinburgh were enjoying a picnic on the dunes at Sandwood when they were surprised to see a tall, bearded sailor staring at them from another dune. A few minutes passed with then the sailor stepped back and vanished. Again, there were no marks in the sand.
Sandwood Cottage, now a bothy, had the reputation for being one of the most remote and perhaps loneliest houses in Scotland with only a little sheep track leading from the bay to the loch going passed it. For generations it was the home of the Mackays of Sandwood, crofters who eked out a meagre living here. There have been repeated accounts from people using it as a bothy overnight and being disturbed by footsteps or a great commotion or by an heavy, oppressive dark mass pressing down on them. Sandwood Bay might be beautiful but it has a darker, unexplained side too.
Sandwood Cottage, now a bothy, had the reputation for being one of the most remote and perhaps loneliest houses in Scotland with only a little sheep track leading from the bay to the loch going passed it. For generations it was the home of the Mackays of Sandwood, crofters who eked out a meagre living here. There have been repeated accounts from people using it as a bothy overnight and being disturbed by footsteps or a great commotion or by an heavy, oppressive dark mass pressing down on them. Sandwood Bay might be beautiful but it has a darker, unexplained side too.