📌 Thurso, Highland
★
There are two separate parts to visiting Thurso Castle: the austere, large main residence, and the beautiful, smaller gatehouse. Starting with the former: this Baronial-style mansion was built in the 1870s on the site of an earlier castle, but it was gutted by fire less than a century later. The ruins overlook Thurso Bay, with a long wall leading to a corner tower on the west side and farm buildings now adjoining the east side. The ornate gatehouse, accessible from a different point (see below), still stands intact, though plants rapidly growing up one side can’t be good for the brickwork.
🌍 Location
📌 By the coast 0.5 mi east of Thurso town centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: ND 125689
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 58.599367,-3.508064
🚌 Mount Pleasant Road (0.5 mi) | 🚆 Thurso (1 mi)
🚗 Street parking near end of Sir Archibald Road
💬 Gatehouse is by the A836 opposite Harald Drive, 🧭 ND 125686 / 🛰️ 58.596156,-3.507776
📝 Key info
⌚ Exterior always viewable
🎫 Free
💬 From the end of Sir Archibald Road, it’s a 5-min walk to the castle along a grassy coast path.
