A f inal crossing for the ferryman
After 35 years, skipper hands over helm to son and recalls famous passengers, a £100 fare and ‘best view in the world’
IT’S just over a third of a mile from the tiny pier at Keoldale over the water to Cape Wrath.
With a favourable tide, the boat trip across takes no more than a few minutes.
Yet for John Morrison this brief journey has consumed the past 35 years.
As ferryman on one of the country’s shortest crossings, he has carried passengers back and forth over the same narrow stretch for much of his working life.
And while some might find the prospect of repeating the same trip tedious, the 69-year-old insists it is anything but.
Last week Mr Morrison finally stepped away from the helm to take retirement, handing over the role of ferryman to his son Malcolm.
He spoke of the joy he has had in his three-and-a-half decades as captain of the Kyle of Durness ferry, from the glorious scenery, from the daily encounters with wildlife and from the varied mix of passengers who ventured to Scotland’s most north-westerly point.
He said: ‘I’ve loved my job. I had the best view in the world and I’ve met some wonderful people. When I went to work I saw otters, sea eagles, ospreys, salmon leaping and seals. What other job can offer you that?’
He added: ‘I just felt it was time as I approach 70 to please myself more. I still will potter about in a boat and do some photography but I’m very proud my son is taking over. He’s run it with me the last wee while and he knows the ropes.’
A ferry on the route dates back to 1826 when workers began building the lighthouse at Cape Wrath, Sutherland, and needed to cross the sea loch.
These days the 24ft locallymade boat Beulah carries several hundred tourists and walkers across the Kyle each year, as well as the occasional celebrity seeking the solitude and beauty of the area’s natural wilderness.
Mr Morrison, who was a longdistance lorry driver until he took up the post to be closer to his young family, is thought to be the longestserving ferryman on the picturesque ten-minute crossing, which runs from Keoldale, just south of Durness, to the starting point of the Cape Wrath road, where a minibus takes tourists to the nearby lighthouse, a popular attraction.
His passengers on the route, which was run by the Northern Lighthouse Board until 1983, have included poet Michael Horovitz, Emmerdale star Norman Bowler and the late Labour minister Robin Cook.
Mr Morrison recalled: ‘I’ve also had wedding parties, people scattering the ashes of loved ones from the boat – even stag parties.
‘But the two passengers I remember the most were a sea trout and a salmon that jumped into my boat.’
The vagaries of the weather and the tide mean the service nowadays mostly operates from May to September and for many the journey itself is part of the attraction.
Mr Morrison, a former member of the Durness Coastguard rescue team who has been known to entertain passengers by playing his accordion on the slipway or regaling them with local tales, said: ‘The frequency of the service is dependent on the state of the tide. Some days you do a couple of runs, other times it’s like a shuttle service.
‘I was licensed for 12 passengers but sometimes I only took one. I’ve done that hundreds of times over the years. Believe it or not, some people only come here to do the ferry trip.’ On one occasion, a passenger paid him £100 for the crossing, even though the return journey costs only £6.50.
He said: ‘I was just about to pack up when this man turned up and was desperate to get across. Finally he said he would give me £100 to take him over to the cape and another £100 for the coach driver to get him to the lighthouse. We agreed.
‘It was only later we found out he was on a £500 bet that he couldn’t get from Land’s End to Cape Wrath in a day. He must have set off at some ridiculous hour and only just made it – thanks to the ferry.’
‘Some people only come here to do the ferry trip’