Thurso

Thurso is a small town with a population of about 8,600. It is noted for being the most northerly town on mainland Britain.

For many years, Thurso was the centre of production of Caithness Flagstone. In recent years, however, this has almost vanished.

Thurso was once a fishing village, but this, too, has faded away. The village of Scrabster - which can be seen from Thurso Beach - is now the main fishing port on the north coast of Caithness.

Another landmark which can be seen from Thurso Beach are the Orkney Isles - famous for many reasons, including the viking ruins and the spectacular Old Man of Hoy. There is a ferry route, run by P & O Ferries, which will take you to Orkney from Scrabster.

Most of the population of Thurso arrived during the 1950's to 1960's when the Dounreay nuclear reactor plant was established. The facility is situated less than 15 miles away to the west of the town. More of the population arrived when the Ministry of Defence established their plant next to the Dounreay site.

The children are well catered for because there are three primary schools - Miller Academy, Pennyland Primary School, and Mount Pleasant Primary School (which also has a special education unit) - one secondary school - Thurso High School - and a college.

Thurso College is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands project, intended to provide university-level qualifications to areas where there are no universities.

Leisure facilities include a 10-pin bowling alley (The Viking Bowl), a swimming pool and gym, a golf course, a putting green, two tennis courts, a squash club, a badminton club, a volleyball club, a lawn bowls club, several pubs and a nightclub.

Again, for the kids, there are loads of playgrounds, and, as I mentioned before, the beach - but watch out; it gets pretty cold up here!

Come to mention it, the weather can be fairly extreme up here; we get everything from rain to hailstones all within the space of a few hours on some days. Crowded House wrote a song about Thurso - "Four Seasons In One Day"... In short, don't forget your waterproofs and yer wellies ;-)

If you want to get wet, though, you can join in the annual European Surfing Championships, who often use Thurso as their venue. There are other watersports available, from windsurfing to jet skiing, but for fishing, the River Thurso is widely regarded as the best in Caithness, as the salmon is excellent. It is little wonder, therefore, that in order to fish for salmon, you must obtain a permit from the owner.

All in all, it is a quiet little town; the people all talk to each other and have plenty to do to keep themselves happy. There is also plenty to do for the tourists, so why not visit Thurso?

See you soon, maybe!