Northwest Highlands, Scotland Attractions

The celebrated Royal Dornach is one of a number of challenging golf courses in the Highland region.

Experienced mountaineers and hill walkers will appreciate the wild beauty of the majestic mountain landscapes - the choice ranges from coastal footpaths and woodland walks to much more demanding climbing expeditions.

For many experienced fly fishermen, the Highlands is synonymous with salmon and brown trout.

The sheltered harbors, inland lakes, estuaries and inlets of the North West Highlands offer amateur sailors plenty to explore. Yachts and motorboats are available for hire and there are a number of sailing schools for beginners. Other opportunities for watersport enthusiasts include skiing, windsurfing and canoeing. Sunken wrecks and a fascinating underwater world attract divers, while bathers are guaranteed crystal clear water.

The A830 heads west out of Fort William towards Mallaig (42mi/67.2km) following a winding scenic route. Mallaig is a terminal for ferries to Skye, Rhum and Eigg.

The road continues beyond Kyle of Lochalsh to Loch Carron, which is noted for its attractive lakeside scenery, and Castle Strome which was destroyed in 1602. For many years it belonged to the powerful Mackenzie barons of Kintail. The coat-of arms bears a stag's antlers (caberfeidh), symbolically the payment rendered in return for the granting of royal estates.

A trip off the beaten track will reap a worthwhile reward. At Kishorn branch off the A896 to the west. Climb a steep mountain road with several hairpin bends over the Bealch nam Bo pass, beyond which the road suddenly drops from 2,000ft/600m down to a level plain and the fine, sandy beach of Applecross.

After Loch Carron, the A896 continues north to Loch Shieldaig, an inlet surrounded by fine woodland, and then on to the mountain region of Torridon dominated by the towering "Munros" (over 3,000ft/1,000m). The red sandstone (over 750 million years old) of Liathach (3,456ft/1,055m) and Beinn Alligin (2,232ft/679m) on the north bank of Upper Loch Torridon are much admired by geologists.

Park rangers lead guided tours into the Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve near Kinlochewe. Opened in 1951, it was Britain's first nature reserve and in 1976 it was upgraded to a UNESCO biosphere reservation. Scotch pines and birch woods dominate the landscape on the lower slopes, but at higher altitudes alpine flora such as alpine azaleas can be found. Wildlife includes red deer, pine martens, wild cats, snow hares, red foxes and golden eagles.

Loch Maree Nature Reserve lies along the south bank of Loch Maree, a deep Pleistocene valley with water low in nutrients but nevertheless a habitat favored by otters and black-throated divers. Access to the nature reserve is through a birch wood about 1mi/3km west of Kinlochewe. The nature trail through breathtaking mountain scenery stays below the tree line. The more demanding mountain trail, a 4mi/6.5km circular tour, begins at the parking lot. It rises to just under 1,800ft/550m and offers an unforgettable view over Loch Maree.

The attractive village of Gairloch (pop. 1,100) is a scenic stop on the tourist route northwards. It lies in a sheltered, sandy bay and boasts a nine-hole golf course.The road to Ullapool runs alongside sandy beaches, majestic mountain ranges and fjord-like inlets. Campers find it hard to resist some of the secluded bays.

The scenic A832 winds round Gruinard Bay and then follows the south bank of Loch Broom to Braemore (38mi/60.8km). A suspension bridge over the Corrieshalloch Gorge offers the best view of the spectacular Measach waterfalls as they cascade over 150ft/46m into the valley.

The A835 links Braemore with one of the Northwest Highland's most popular resorts. The fishing village of Ullapool (pop. 1,100) was founded in 1788 by the British Fisheries Association. Its pretty whitewashed houses in the village nestle on the north bank of Loch Broom. The art world is familiar with this remote spot thanks to some evocative watercolors by the Austrian-born Expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) who visited the area on more than one occasion during the 1940s.Car ferries leave Ullapool for Stornaway.

The Summer Isles lie to the northwest of Ullapool, just off the mainland. The largest island is called Tanara Mhor and like some of the smaller islands it can be visited by boat from Ullapool.

The remote 41sq.mi/109sq.km Inverpolly Nature Reserve which lies about 20mi/32km north of Ullapool was opened during the 1960s. It is characterized by open moorland, birch woods and lonely lochs.The Knockan Cliff Visitor Centre with nature and geological trails is situated nearby.

Evidence of glacial activity during the Ice Age are the rounded peaks and deep valleys. Instead of taking the direct route along the A835 to Ledmore, a more adventurous alternative winds its way below the constantly changing mountain backdrop and alongside the coast to Inverkirkaig where the Kirkaig waterfalls (2mi/3.2km south of Lochinver) cascade into the valley. To the west of the A835, Ben More Coigach (2,438ft/744m) and Cul Beag or Stac Polly (2,009ft/613m) are the first peaks to come into view followed by Cul More (2,787ft/850m) and Suilven (2,399ft/732m), an impressive "sugarloaf" mountain. All the mountains in this range are popular with mountaineers.

Knockan Cliff is of interest to geologists because the sequence of rock strata has become reversed by tectonic movement and the older moine schist lies above the younger Torridon sandstone. A nature trail (about 1mi/2km from the parking lot) explains about the "moine thrust", a 125mi/200km fault line between the Isle of Skye and Loch Eriboll.

Almost 22mi/35.2km north of Ullapool the A835 crosses the unforgettable picture-book landscape to the north of Loch Assynt. Well-known among the angling fraternity for its salmon and trout, the loch is ringed by a majestic mountain panorama.

No fewer than 280 lochs surround the rural community of Lochinver (pop. 700) and although some of them do not even have a name, they do provide a wealth of opportunities for anglers. Lochinver was an important port for the herring industry during the 17th and 18th centuries but now the catch is primarily white fish and crustaceans. Locally-produced ceramics are available from the Highland Stoneware Pottery.

It is possible to take a boat trip from Kylesku, northeast of Loch Assynt, along Loch a'Chairn Bhain to see the seal colony. The Eas a Chual Aluinn Falls are Britain's highest waterfalls (658ft/200m) and are visible on the return journey.

The bird reserve on Handa Island is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and lies almost 3mi/4.8km northwest of the crofting community of Scourie. As one of the biggest seabird colonies in northern Europe, it gives bird watchers a rare opportunity to see puffins, guillemots, razorbills, great skuas, fulmars, shags and kittiwakes at close quarters. Seals often bask on the rocks in the sun.

The tiny settlement of Kinlochbervie is an important port for whitefish. Catches are auctioned every day in the new fish market (1988).

To the north of Blairmore a 5mi/8km long footpath leads to Sandwood Bay. It is not only one of the remotest but also one of the most beautiful beaches in Scotland. The spirit of a bearded sailor from a ship wrecked off the coast is said to haunt the beach and mermaids are also supposed to sit on the shore.

The north coast road, in many places just single-track, passes through delightful scenery as it winds its way to Thurso. Loch Eriboll, a salmon farming center, is a good place for a break. A walk to Whiten Head offers further splendid views.

On a lonely hill by Ben a'Bhragaidh northwest of Golspie stands a huge statue of the first Duke of Sutherland. The statue was erected in 1833 initially to acknowledge his contribution to the kelp industry, fisheries, house and road building, but it quickly came to symbolize one of the bitterest episodes in Scottish history: the Highland Clearances.The origins of these traumatic events can be traced back to the defeat of the Scottish clans. With the exception of Caithness, the traditional structure of Highland society rested for centuries on a system of almost 180 clans that lived independently of each other, cultivated the valleys to fulfillll their own requirements and bred "Black Cattle". The land belonged to the clans, which were represented by a clan chief, and every individual had rights and duties arising from his or her membership of the clan. After the convincing defeat at Culloden in 1746, the clan system was banned and the clansmen's property became the property of the English administrators who showed little concern for the welfare of the crofters whose livelihood depended on that land.After 1780 the estates were returned to clan chiefs who vowed allegiance to the crown. These landowners were known as "lairds" and were able to grant feudal rights to the small-scale farmers.Spurred on by the success of the southern Scottish estates where the "laird" system was well tried and also the burgeoning demands of the expanding English textile industry, these new Highland landlords saw opportunities for profitable exploitation of the vast expanses of land. Large-scale sheep farming was seen as an escape from low yields, poverty and famine that accompanied traditional, labor-intensive cultivation of the land. The numerous sheep breeders of the Lowlands were offering to pay three times as much to graze their Cheviot and Linton flocks but this meant that a large proportion of the farmers would have to be resettled in the coastal regions. The forced eviction of two thirds of the farming families, the "Highland Clearances" as they became known, started at the beginning of the 18th century and continued until the 1870s. After a vain attempt by the crofters to stop the advance of sheep farming at Easter Ross in 1792, there was little organized resistance to the power of the lairds. The result was the almost entire removal of settlements from the Highland region and overcrowding in the coastal regions.Fishing and collecting seaweed as a fertilizer was an inadequate second source of income for the crofters who were given only small plots of land, so many of them, faced with little chance of a decent livelihood at home, were forced to emigrate south to the industrial regions of Scotland and England or else to go abroad. After the famines of 1836 and 1846 and incentives offered by overseas governments, the Highlands, before 1745 home to three fifths of the total Scottish population, were by 1870 almost deserted. One Canadian province, Nova Scotia, owes its existence to the disastrous Highland Clearances.The county of Sutherland earned notoriety from the Highland Clearances as some 15,000 Highlanders were forced to leave their native soil. Those who did not leave voluntarily faced the bailiff and anyone who stood up to him had to endure brutal violence. Homes were razed to the ground, families torn asunder and agitators were rounded up and sent to penal colonies in Australia. The initiator of the Sutherland Clearances was George Granville, at the time one of Europe's wealthiest businessmen. This Englishman, the Marquess of Stafford, had married the daughter of the Earl of Sutherland in 1785. When Queen Victoria visited the seat of the Sutherlands in 1832, she is said to have been aware that the simplicity of her own home, Balmoral Castle, contrasted with the splendor of Dunrobin Castle, which is even today one of Scotland's largest ancestral homes. Immediately after his wedding, the 27-year-old marquis set about resettling his crofters near the coast and handing over the agricultural land to sheep farmers from the Lowlands. He built new homes, schools, roads and even a railroad line as part of the "land reform" and in 1833 was rewarded with a dukedom. Twenty years later, however, Karl Marx wrote in the New York Herald Tribune that he had committed an act of brutal despotism on a par with that of Genghis Khan.Memories of the Clearances run deep in the psyche of the unfortunate victims and an objective assessment of the policy is impossible. Scottish emigrants in all parts of the former British empire, some four or five generations on, are said to be able to put a name to the soldier - almost certainly a Highlander - who ejected their ancestors from their homes. Further information on the background to the mass evictions is available in the Timespan Heritage Centre (1987) in Helmsdale and the Strathnaver Museum where finds from the abandoned village of Rosail (7mi/11.2km to the south) are also exhibited. A painting by the contemporary artist Thomas Faed (1826-1900) entitled "The Last of the Clan" (1865) shows the misery and desperation of the victims. It is now on display in the municipal art gallery in Glasgow.

Bharraich Castle near Tongue was once the seat of the MacKays. It is thought that the fortress dates from Viking times.

Like many other coastal settlements in Sutherland, Bettyhill owes its existence to the Highland Clearances.

The fast breeder reactor at Dounreay was in operation from 1959 to 1977. An exhibition explains how the nuclear reactor generated electricity.

The remains of St Mary's Chapel are situated near Crosskirk, about 6mi/9.6km outside Thurso. The holy site dates from the 12th century.

Thurso (pop. 8,000; "Thors-a" = "by the river") has the northernmost railroad station on the mainland. The medieval St Peter's Church (12/13th century) is the oldest building in the small town. It is thought that the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Gilbert of Moravia.

Situated in central Sutherland, Loch Shin (15mi/24km long and 2mi/3.2km wide) is a popular watersports and fishing center and also a source of hydroelectric power.

Loch Naver and the tiny village of Altnaharra (pop. 60) north of Loch Shin nestle in the center of a splendid mountain region.

As illustrated by an exhibition in the old well house, the elegant spa town of Strathpeffer with its smart villas, delightful gardens and 18-hole golf courses (4mi/6.4km to the west) was one of Scotland's most fashionable resorts in Victorian times. In the village square it is still possible to sample the mineral-rich water and the woods around the village are ideal for relaxing walks. Craftsmen and women from around the region display their skills and products in the restored railroad station. As well as craft shops, the old station contains the delightful Highland Museum of Childhood, which is open from April to October and is well worth a visit.

The A9 passes through Alness, the home of Cnoc Fyrish and at its summit is Fyrish Monument. This was the brainchild of Sir Hector Munro of Novar who had it built in 1792 to provide work for unemployed workers.

The A9 follows the north bank of the Cromarty to Invergordon (pop. 4,200). Its harbor was once an important military base but is now dominated by the oil industry. The town is one of the main repair and maintenance centers for the British sector of the oil drilling industry. In 1749, scarcely 10 years after the last Jacobite uprising, Sir John Gordon devised a scheme to convert the town into a holiday resort with bathing machines and pleasure boats but the project was only partially completed.

As the "Brahan Seer" a famous 17th century Highland prophet predicted, the roof of the medieval Fearn Abbey (9mi/14.4km north of Invergordon) collapsed during a service in 1742 and 42 people were buried beneath the rubble. The north and south chapels of the restored Premonstratensian abbey remain roofless.

Locally-quarried red and yellow sandstone gives the houses in Tain (pop. 4,100) an attractive appearance. This small royal market town by the Dornoch Firth has several sights of interest including the town hall in Scottish baronial style.

The coastal town of Dornoch (pop. 1,100) is noted for its cathedral. Little remains of the old castle - once an episcopal palace - apart from the tower which has since been incorporated into a hotel.Today Dornoch is best known for its 18-hole golf course and its long sandy beach.

The main road north runs from Dornpoch alongside the coast to Golspie (pop. 1,300; 10mi/16km to the north). It is the administrative center for Sutherland and can boast a long sandy beach, a go-kart track and an 18-hole golf course overlooking the sea.

The trail is being considered by Scottish Natural Heritage as an official long distance route. The 71-mile / 114 kilometer route goes from Fort William on the west coast to Inverness on the east, following a canal towpath, forest tracks and minor roads. The trails can be used for both cycling and hiking.

Brora (pop. 1,100; 6mi/9.6km to the north of Durobin Castle) lies at the mouth of the Brora, a river much acclaimed by anglers for its salmon. Other attractions include an 18-hole golf course and a long sandy beach. The village is home to Hunters Woolen Mill which produces fine tweeds.

The tiny port of Helmsdale (pop. 900; 11mi/17.6km) owes its origins in the 19th century to the herring industry.

The fishing village of Dunbeath (pop. 490; 10mi/16km to the north of Berriedale) was the birthplace of the writer Neil M. Gunn.

The road between Latheron and Wick (17mi/27km) passes several prehistoric standing stones such as the oval-shaped Hill o'Many Stones by the A9 near Mid Clyth and the Cairn of Get near Ulbster.

The lively town of Wick (pop. 8,000) whose name is derived from the Nordic word "vik" meaning "bay" earns its living from fishing and the oil industry.

The A9 winds its way through magnificent mountain scenery and deep gorges. Berriedale (10mi/16km), where Langwell Water and Berriedale River flow into the sea, is the site of an abandoned castle, while Morven (2,313ft/705m) and the lower peaks of the Scaraben can be seen to the west.