Smoo Cave is a fascinating natural wonder located near the village of Durness in the Scottish Highlands.

The cave boasts one of the largest entrances to any sea cave in Britain at 50 ft high and is floodlit inside. It was formed by a burn that runs down into the rear chamber, as well as erosion caused by the sea.

It is believed to have been a Stone Age home more than 5,000 years ago with Viking settlers later gathering here to repair boats and fish for herring. Sir Walter Scott visited Smoo Cave in 1814, who wrote about it in his diary and brought the cave to public attention.

Many local legends surround the cave, including one of highway man McMurdo who patrolled this far flung corner of the north during the 1500s. McMurdo murdered his victims by throwing them down the blowhole into the cave with the highwayman buried in a tomb at nearby Balnakeil Church.

In 1992 an archaeological dig on a midden site - similar to a rubbish tip- concluded the cave was one of the of the most northerly habitation sites in the British mainland. The upper layers of the midden, which was packed with shells, dated to the Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago.

Guided geological tours of Smoo Cave, part of which are undertaken by boat, are run over the summer months.