iKnow Scotland
- Aviemore
- Fort William
- Glen Coe
- Grantown-on-Spey
- Inverness
- Around Inverness
- Loch Ness
- North East Highlands
- North West Highlands
North East Highlands Accommodation
The typical Caithness north east Highlands landscape
Forsinard RSPB Reserve and the Dubh Lochan Trail
Stunning cliff formations at Duncansby Head
Picturesque Lybster harbour
Lybster lighthouse
The Laidhay Croft Museum and Cafe - a welcome pitstop
Sandy Dunnet Bay and Dunnet Head - well worth a visit
Farr Bay on the north Caithness coastCaithness Northeast Highlands Tourist Information Flow Country Peatlands
The North East Highlands are not as obviously spectacular as a lot of the high mountain areas of the rest of the Highlands of Scotland. The mountains jut out of a largely flat or low undulating countryside. It is nontheless an awe inspiring part of the country with vast open landscapes covered in peat and bog. In fact the peatlands in this area are some of the best and most important in the world. So prevalent are the bogs up here that it is often called the Flow Country.
The far north eastern part of Scotland was formerly Caithness. Sutherland extends across to the east around the Dornoch area. There is some stunning coastline such as at Duncansby. All around the coast are a string of seaside towns such as Dornoch, Wick and Thurso.
Caithness Peatlands - The Flow Country
The north eastern Highlands of Scotland are one of the few places in this country where you feel you're in wilderness country. It may be too remote for some, but the extensive flat peatlands, lochs with the occasional high hill rising up on the horizon have a beauty all their own.
It's often referred to as the Flow Country from the Norse word "floi" meaning marshy ground. This is a fair description of much of the land up here, but these are truly amazing habitats that have formed over thousands of years.
This part of Scotland has some of the most extensive peat bogs in the world. On first glance these can seem uninteresting but when you get up close and personal you can see the myriad of specialist plants like sphagnum mosses and the carnivorous plant, sundew. Being such extensive and quality peat bogs there are plants here that occur in very few other locations in the country. A good introduction to these habitats is by following the Dubh Lochan Trail at Forsinard RSPB Reserve (see details below).
Much of Caithness is open expanse with small settlements largely clustered around the coast. This was another area that was hit hard by the 19th century Highland Clearances and you'll see old crofts dotting the landscape. At the traditionally rush-thatched Laidhay Croft Museum, just off the A9 at Dunbeath, a croft has been restored and shows how a dwelling, stable and byre were central to crofting life. This is also a handy stop off point as it is one of the few watering holes in this part of the world with a cafe where refreshments and home baking are on offer. Laidhay Croft Museum, Laidhay, Dunbeath, Caithness KW6 6EH. Tel: 01593 731244. Fax: 01593 721548.
Flow Country Caithness Peatlands Forsinard RSPB Reserve
Pretty much central amongst the Caithness Peatlands is the RSPB Reserve Forsinard that covers 10,000 hectares of blanket bog. There is a Visitor Centre at the side of railway station that has a wealth of information on peatbogs, their plants and the bird life of the area. During Spring and summer you can see golden plovers, hen harriers and greenshanks all of which breed on the reserve. As bogs are not great places to be tramping round and too much access can damage the habitat the RSPB tries to restrict access by providing the Dubh Lochan Trail which takes you round all the characteristics that make up bogs and explains about the plant life that is so important to them. A dubh lochan is a small bog pool and in the bogs in Caithness you will occasionally see a series of these puncturing the bog. The RSPB Ranger takes guided walks twice a week during the spring and summer months.
The Visitor Centre also has lots of child friendly activities and Wildlife Explorer backpacks that children can take with them on the trail. The Centre also has a CCTV rigged up where you can view the hen harriers nesting. Dogs should be kept under control in the Reserve to avoid disturbance to deer and birds.
The scenic train route from Inverness to Wick/Thurso passes right through the flows and stops at Forsinard. Check the timetables though as these are not all that regular.
The Visitor Centre is open between Apr-end Oct but you can visit the reserve itself all year round. Tel: 01641 571225. Email: forsinard@rspb.org.uk
North East Highlands Caithness Coast
The Caithness coast is also a stunning part of north east Highlands. Crofting would have relied heavily on the seas for food and ports like Wick were once important for herring fishing. The rock formations at Duncansby are a must-see and all along the east and north coast are a string of bays with sandy beaches and rocks - great for family exploring.
Visit Dunnet Bay and Strathy Bay on the north coast and further west Torrisdale and Farr Bay where the peaty water mixes with salt water. At Farr there is a Tourist Information Centre and Elizabeth's Cafe where you can by homemade produce, gifts and ice cream.
Lybster, south of Wick has a pretty harbour from which you can take some coastal walks. Further south from Helmsdale to Dornoch there are a string of sandy beaches looking out onto the Dornoch Firth.
North East Highlands Walking
The Caithness area has some wide open spaces to explore but there are also a lot of red deer herds that roam the landscape. Check the Hillphones and Scottish Outdoor Access links right on access to the countryside particularly during the deer stalking season.
Thurso Ferries Surfing
Thurso is the most northerly town on mainland Britain. It's a functional centre serving all the small communities in this part of the North East Highlands. It's a good centre for accommodation, shops, travel links and ferries to the Orkney Isles.
It is one of the best surfing areas in the world with huge surf rolling in from the Pentland Firth. Around Thurso you can explore more of the Caithness coast over to Britain's most northerly point at Dunnet Head as well as the Flow Country to the south.
Wick Tourist Information
Wick was once the administrative centre for all of Caithness and the busiest herring port in Europe. Those days waned but Wick still remains an important centre for Caithness along with Thurso.
There are a variety of walking routes around the town and Wick Heritage Centre and Old Pulteney Distillery are visitors attractions within the town. North of the town centre is Wick Airport from which you can fly to the Orkney Islands or down to Edingburgh or Aberdeen.
John O'Groats Tourist Information
John O'Groats is the iconic most northerly point on the UK. As such it's popular with long distance walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists and the odd novelty vehicle. Along the coast near John O'Groats are two ferry services with ferries to the Orkney Islands and wildlife trips in the Pentland Firth.
John O'Groats holds a fascination for anyone visiting this far north but don't miss some of the spectacular scenery that lies around the coast beyond John O'Groats like at Duncansby Head.
Dornoch Cathedral - Royal Dornoch Golf Course
Dornoch is an attractive historic town with many grand buildings hewn from the local sandstone. In recent history Dornoch and the area around it have been favourites of Madonna and Guy Ritchie who had their son christened in Dornoch Cathedral and they married at Skibo Castle nearby. However, Dornoch is most noted for its championship golf course at Royal Dornoch Golf Club - in fact it now has two. It's a good base for golfing all around the north east coast and down into the Moray Firth.
If golf's not your thing explore the countryside around including Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve.
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