📌 Town in Highland
★★
Thurso is the northernmost town on the Scottish mainland, and a relative metropolis for these parts. Set astride the mouth of the River Thurso – which has worthwhile walks along its banks – the settlement grew up as an important trading and fishing port. Most sea traffic now goes to nearby Scrabster, but the Dounreay nuclear power station (currently being decommissioned) is a more recent source of local employment. The town doesn’t quite seem to have fully harnessed the benefits of the North Coast 500 driving route which passes through it, with quite a few vacant shops on our visit; the superb museum in the former Town Hall closed in 2019, though it’s due to reopen in 2021. Nevertheless, this is an excellent area for rainy day options, even without the museum. Wolfburn Distillery (new, but with ancient roots) is found just to the west of town, while Thurso Castle stands just up the coast to the east. There are several places to eat – we enjoyed the hearty portions at the Ynot inn.
🌍 Location
📌 Highland
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: ND 116683
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 58.593532,-3.522003
🚶 The town is small and local attractions are walkable from the centre. Scrabster is accessible by infrequent bus.
🚆🚌 Thurso can be reached by train on the Far North Line from Inverness and Wick. There are also buses from Inverness, Wick, other nearby settlements, and from the three Orkney ferry ports at Scrabster, Gills Bay and John o’ Groats.
Explore nearby
<1 mi away
>> North Coast Visitor Centre ★★★★
>> Thurso Bay ★★
>> Thurso Castle ★
>> Wolfburn Distillery ★★★
<3 mi away
>> Walk: Holborn Head a-Hoy! ★★★★ (2 mi ↑)
