Dunbeath

For the racehorse, see Dunbeath (horse).

Dunbeath Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Bheithe
Kenn and the Salmon, a statue in memory of Neil Gunn at Dunbeath harbour
Dunbeath Location within the Caithness area
OS grid reference	ND160298
Civil parish	Latheron
Council area	Highland
Lieutenancy area	Caithness
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DUNBEATH
Postcode district	KW6
Dialling code	01593
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Scottish Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
List of places UK Scotland 58°14′58″N 3°25′55″W / 58.249314°N 3.431925°W / 58.249314; -3.431925

Dunbeath (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Bheithe)^[1] is a village in south-east Caithness, Scotland on the A9 road.^[2][3] It sits astride the Dunbeath Water just before it enters the sea at Dunbeath Bay. Berriedale lies to the south and Latheronwheel to the north-east.

Dunbeath has a very rich archaeological landscape, the site of numerous Iron Age brochs and an early medieval monastic site (see Alex Morrison's archaeological survey, "Dunbeath: A Cultural Landscape".)

There is a community museum/landscape interpretation centre at the old village school (http://www.dunbeath-heritage.org.uk).

History

Dunbeath as a developed settlement primarily dates from the 1790s as it was developed as a coastal fishing settlement for over 80 families cleared from the nearby Strath (valley).^[4] The old road bridge was built to a design by Thomas Telford circa 1810 and later superceded by a curved conrete viaduct in the 20th century.^[4] The Main Street. dates from the 1840s.^[4] The mid 19th century saw fishing reach its largest extent with up to 190 boats working out of Dunbeath.^[4] Only a few boats now work out of Dunbeath though the large harbour remains.^[4]

Prince George, Duke of Kent, was killed when his Short Sunderland flying boat crashed on a Dunbeath hillside on 25 August 1942.^[5]

Notable people

Dunbeath was the birthplace of Neil M. Gunn (1891–1973), author of Highland River and other novels.^[4] Many of Gunn's novels are set in Dunbeath and its Strath. Of Dunbeath's landscape, Gunn wrote: "These small straths, like the Strath of Dunbeath, have this intimate beauty. In boyhood we get to know every square yard of it. We encompass it physically and our memories hold it. Birches, hazel trees for nutting, pools with trout and an occasionally visible salmon, river-flats with the wind on the bracken and disappearing rabbit scuts, a wealth of wild flower and small bird life, the soaring hawk, the unexpected roe, the ancient graveyard, thoughts of the folk who once lived far inland in straths and hollows, the past and the present held in a moment of day-dream." ('My Bit of Britain', 1941).

References

1. Gaelic and Norse in the Landscape: Placenames in Caithness and Sutherland Archived 2011-09-21 at the Wayback Machine. Scottish National Heritage.
2. "Dunbeath". The Gazetteer for Scotland. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
3. "Scothighlands - Drive from Inverness to John O'Groats". www.scothighlands.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
4. Tait, Charles (2017). The North Coast 500 Guide Book. p. 136. ISBN 978-1909036604.
5. "Oban Royal Air Force Station, Scotland - the Flying Boat Squadrons". www.rafoban.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 June 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2022.