Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CAITHNESS
Once you pass Helmsdale, you are entering Caithness, a place of jagged gorse-and-grass-
topped cliffs hiding tiny fishing harbours. This top corner of Scotland was once Viking ter-
ritory, historically more connected to Orkney and Shetland than to the rest of the mainland.
It's a magical and mystical land with an ancient aura, peopled by wise folk with long
memories who are fiercely proud of their Norse heritage.
Helmsdale to Lybster
About 7 miles north of Helmsdale is
Badbea
, an abandoned crofting village. It was estab-
lished during the Highland Clearances in the early 19th century, when people were evicted
from their homes in the nearby glens. The village of
Dunbeath
has a spectacular setting in
a deep glen - drop by the
Heritage Centre
(
01593-731233;
www.dunbeath-herit-
age.org.uk
; The Old School; adult/child £2.50/free; 10am-5pm Sun-Fri Apr-Sep,
11am-3pm Mon-Fri Oct-Mar)
, which has a stone carved with runic graffiti, and a display
on the work of Neil Gunn, whose wonderful novels evoke the Caithness of his boyhood.
Two miles north of Dunbeath is the
Laidhay Croft Museum
(
0756 370 2321;
www.laidhay.co.uk
;
adult/child £3.50/2.50; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat Jun-Sep)
, which recre-
ates crofting life from the mid-1800s to WWII. At the
Clan Gunn Heritage Centre &
Museum
(
01593-741700;
www.clangunnsociety.org
;
adult/child £2.50/50p;
11am-1pm & 2-4pm Mon-Sat Jun-Sep)
in Latheron, a mile past Laidhay, you'll learn that a
Scot, not Christopher Columbus, discovered America - but you might take this claim with
a pinch of salt!
Lybster & Around
Lybster is a purpose-built fishing village dating from 1810, with a stunning harbour area
surrounded by grassy cliffs. In its heyday, it was Scotland's third-busiest port. Things have
changed - now there are only a couple of boats - but there are several interesting prehistor-
ic sites in the area.
