Wha's like us . . . John and Katherine Ure

Published on Saturday 6 June 2009 19:53

THERE is a thin line between intrepid and foolhardy, and there will be those who think John Ure is more the latter than the former. But who can fail to be impressed by the dogged determination required to set up a business in one of the most inaccessible corners of the British Isles – Cape Wrath.

To get there from the nearest village, Durness, requires a 13-mile drive on one of the trickiest roads in the country followed by a ferry ride. And access is sometimes curtailed by RAF practice bombing raids. Undeterred, Mr Ure and his wife Katherine have spent ten years restoring the 1827 lighthouse – built by the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson – and have created an eight-seat cafe on the clifftop with spectacular views out to the Atlantic. Adding to the challenges, the remote lighthouse has no mains water or electricity.

Scotland's hospitality industry is often maligned as lacking vigour and imagination. In their Cape Wrath cafe, the Ures have shown that, in the unlikeliest of places, Scotland's tourism industry is capable of pleasant surprises.