Croft, Smerclett (page 61)
The croft in Paul Strand’s image had a turf roof which today will be missing or replaced with tiles or thatch, and the building is shown against a virtually bare, low skyline. So, apart from any possible clue given by what looks to be a stone enclosure to the left, successful identification of the exact shooting location in the scattered hamlet of Smerclett (Smercleit) was always likely to be a matter of luck.
Croft, Smerclett. Paul Strand, 1962
Luck wasn’t on my side, for despite checking the arrangement of stones in a number of crofts both intact and ruinous as I passed through the village on several days, I couldn’t find anything that matched.
On the ground, a roofless croft lies in a field close to the beach, a couple of hundred meters north of the location of 'Reefs, Smerclett' (page 15) so I chose this as a substitute - it is at grid reference 748156.
Ruined croft, Smercleit. Mark Farrington 2016.
I could see no nearby trace of the enclosure against the croft and, when I compared the detailed arrangement of the stones in the image with those on the gable ends of the current ruin, they do not match. There are quite a few ruined crofts in this area and I didn't have time to scrutinise more, so this near miss is currently the best I can offer.
Ruined croft window, Smercleit. Mark Farrington, 2016.