Thurso
This article refers to the town in Scotland. For the city in Canada, see Thurso, Quebec. |
St. Peter's Kirk, Thurso |
Thurso[Ordnance Survey grid reference for Thurso: ] (from
Old Norse, meaning 'Bull's water') (
Inbhir Theòrsa in
Scottish Gaelic)
[The Scottish Gaelic name is a translation which assumes the town is named for the river.] is a
town and a
burgh on the north
coast of
Scotland. It is the northernmost town on the British mainland, situated at the northern extreme of the
A9 road, the main highway linking
Caithness with the south of the country, and is 32 km (20 miles) west of
John O' Groats and 34 km (21 miles) northwest of
Wick, the closest town. The nearest
city is
Inverness, some 177 km (110 miles) to the south. Thurso is the most northerly location served by the
Britain's
rail network, which links the town directly with Wick, the
county town of Caithness, and with Inverness,
[For details of the rail links with Wick and Inverness, see Far North Line] which is the administrative centre of the
Highland Council area. It has a population of around 9,000 residents (2001 census). Thurso lies as far north (59 degrees of
latitude) as the Alaskan state capital of
Juneau.
The town is within the
Parish of Thurso, which has the
parishes of
Olrig and
Bower to the east,
Halkirk to the south, and
Reay to the west. The parish of Thurso has also a north-facing
Atlantic coastline stretching from
Crosskirk Bay in the west to the
Haven in
Dunnet Bay in the east.
The
River Thurso flows through the town and thus into
Thurso Bay and the North Atlantic Ocean. The river estuary serves as a small harbour. Thurso has a fine harbour and beach and looks out over the Firth to the
Orkney Island of
Hoy and the famous towering
Old Man of Hoy (A stac of rock standing out from the main island). About 2 km (1.6 miles) to the west of the estuary
Scrabster Harbour berths a ferry ship, operated by
Northlink called the "Hamnavoe", which links Thurso and the Scottish mainland with
Stromness on the
Orkney Islands. Scrabster has deep water in the shelter of
Holborn Head.
Area offices of Highland Council are located in the town, as is the main campus of
North Highland College, formerly Thurso College. This is one of several constituent partner colleges which form the
University of the Highlands & Islands (UHI) Millennium Institute, and offers several certificate, diploma and degree courses from subjects as diverse as Nuclear Decommissioning to Golf Management. Thurso also boasts a small
museum, a two-screen cinema, ten-pin bowling, a small skatepark and an
internet cafe for cybergaming. There is also a sizeable
British Telecom call-centre on the west-side of the town.
The town's history stretches back, at least, to the era of
Norse Orcadian rule in Caithness, which ended conclusively in 1266. The town was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe, especially during the 19th century.
Old St Peter's Kirk is said to date from circa. 1220 and the time of Caithness Bishop
Gilbert Murray, who died in 1245. Much of the town is however a planned 19th century development, and a major expansion occurred in the mid-20th century when an experimental nuclear power plant was established at
Dounreay,
[Ordnance Survey grid reference for Dounreay: ] 14.5 km (9 miles) to the west of the town. Within a period of perhaps ten years, Thurso's population expanded rapidly from around 3,000 to about 9,000, as the nuclear plant attracted skilled migrants from all quarters of the
United Kingdom.
Three
first past the post wards of the
Highland Council are named as Thurso wards:
Thurso West,
Thurso Central and
Thurso East, each electing one councillor. In 2007, Thurso will be covered by one
single transferable vote ward, electing three councillors.
The
football (soccer) team,
Thurso FC (nicknamed "the Vikings"), plays in the
North Caledonian League.
The current champions of the
Caithness County League are the
Thurso Academicals FC who won the league in the 2005 season for the first time in 36 years.
Another football team in Thurso is the
Pathetic Sharks. As their name indicates, they are not exactly
Premier League quality and are named after character's in the adult satirical comic
Viz.
Surfing, for a few years, was a big pastime with many of the local youths. The power of the waves rolling in from the North Atlantic has been compared with those of
Hawaii. Certainly, for those with a penchant for barrelling reef-breaks,
Thurso East leaves little to be desired on a good day. On a big day, 20-second coverups are not unknown.
The
European Surfing Championships and Scottish
Surf Kayaking Championships are sometimes held in Caithness, with
Thurso East being the main focus of activity. This indicates the esteem in which Northern Scotland waves are held.
Brilon (
Germany)
From
Scrabster Harbour (
Ordnance Survey ) the
A9 runs generally east/southeast through Thurso and then generally south towards
Inverness,
Perth and
Falkirk. In Thurso the A9 has junctions with two other classified roads, the
A836 and the B874, and in the
Georgemas area, about 8
kilometres (5
miles) south of Thurso, the A9 has a locally important junction with the
A882 (), which leads towards
Wick.
From the A9 near
Burnside (), in Thurso, the A836 leads generally west towards
Reay,
Melvich,
Bettyhill and
Tongue.
From the A9 in central Thurso () the B874 leads generally south towards
Halkirk.
From the A9 in the
Millbank area of Thurso () the A836 leads generally east towards
Castletown and
John O Groats.
Thurso has been voted
Scotland's town of the year 14 years running.
*
Local knowledge about Thurso from
The Knowhere Guide.
*http://caithness.org/ - Caithness.org is a community portal with vast archives. Updated daily.
*http://www.travelscotland.co.uk/guide/Thurso - Another guide to Thurso and also local area
*http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/thurso/thurso/ - Online guide to the area. Many high-res pictures.
*
Northlink Ferries Sailing to Orkney and Shetland from Scotland calling at Aberdeen, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Stromness and Scrabster ferryports.
