The north and northwest Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 249

THE FLOW COUNTRY
A detour inland on the A897 east of Bettyhill towards Helmsdale heads south into the
Flow Country . The name (pronounced to rhyme with “now”) derives from flói , an Old Norse
word meaning “marshy ground” and this 1544-mile squared expanse of “blanket bog” - the
largest in the world, says Unesco, which has it filed under “possible” on its World Heritage status
- is both a valuable carbon sink and a home to a wide variety of birdlife. The RSPB's Forsinard
Flows Visitor Centre (Easter-Oct daily 9am-5pm; free; T 01641 571225, T rspb.org.uk
reserves) at the train station in FORSINARD , is the gateway to the so-called Forsinard Flows.
Pick up a leaflet then follow the mile-long Dubh Lochan Trail over flagstones to learn about
its blanket bog being restored from forestry use. En route, you get to see bog asphodel,
bogbean, and insect-trapping sundew and butterwort; you've also got a good chance of
spotting greenshanks, golden plovers and hen harriers. The visitor centre runs twice-weekly
guided walks through the area (May-July, currently Mon & Tues 2-5pm; 3hr walk; £5) to
explain the wonders of peat; wellies or walking boots are recommended.

Bettyhill and around
Twelve miles east of Tongue, BETTYHILL is a major crofting village, set among rocky
green hills. In Gaelic it was known as Am Blàran Odhar (“Little Dun-coloured Field”).
The origins of the English name are unknown but it was definitely not named after
Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland, who presided over the Strathnaver Clearances
whose sorry tale is told in the town museum. The village is also surrounded on either
side by beautiful beaches: Farr beach , a splendid crescent of white sand, is behind the
museum, while the unbroken arc of Torrisdale Bay sweeps west of the town beyond the
Naver River. Both receive good surf. For more cerebral stuff, the 24-mile Strathnaver
Trail runs south along the B873 to Altnaharra, past historical sites from the Neolithic,
Bronze and Iron Age periods, not to mention the remains of crofting villages cleared in
the early 1800s. Pick up guide leaflets (£2) from the museum.

4

Strathnaver Museum
In the old Farr church, east of the main village • April-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-5pm • £2 • T 01971 521418, W strathnavermuseum.org.uk
The volunteer-run Strathnaver Museum houses the usual exhibits of ethnological and
archeological interest - crofting items including a bizarre fishing buoy made from a
dogskin, Pictish stones and a 3800-year-old early Bronze-Age beaker - and also
narrates the Sutherland Clearances through a short film. It's most famous item is free to
view - the Farr stone , a ninth-century engraved Pictish gravestone, is in the west end of
the graveyard.

ACCOMMODAT ION AND EATING BETTYHILL AND AROUND

Bettyhill Hotel Main road T 01641 521202,
W bettyhill-hotel.com On our last visit, the Bettyhill Hotel
was in the process of bein g renovated; sta ndar d rooms
were expected to go for £90 , budget ones for £70
Café at Bettyhill Beside Strathnaver Museum, east of
the main village T 01641 521244. One of the only

options in Bettyhill, this small, simple café is all about
home-cooking, whether daily specials like fisherman's pie
(£8) or filled baked potatoes or cakes. It serves fish and
chips year-round at weekends (Fri & Sat 5-7pm). April-
Oct daily 10.30am-4.30pm.

Thurso
THURSO feels like a metropolis after the wild west. In reality it's a modest administrative
service centre, most of whose visitors only pause before catching the ferry to Orkney
from its port, Scrabster . Yet it makes a good base for the area and is legendary among
British surfers , drawn to a wave which barrels of a reef just east of the harbour. One of
the most powerful waves in Europe, “Thurso East” is not a break for beginners.