North Highlands trail

Forse Castle

This is the remains of a ruined building dating to the early thirteenth century. The castle is on a rocky peninsula high above the sea. It is located close to the village of Forse which is east from Crosskirk south from the A836 towards Thurso/Inbhir Theorsa in Caithness.

Thurso Castle

This a mid-seventeenth century tower house located on the site of a previous twelfth century earthwork fortress founded by the Norse Earls. The site is in Thurso East, off Castletown Road. The remains of the house are now roofless.

Old St Peter's Kirk-a ruined twelfth century church with the remains being predominantly of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The site is located in the Thurso/Inbhir Theorsa.

Castle of Mey-this sixteenth century castle had a number of alterations in the early nineteenth century. It was bought by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1952 who renovated and restored it and created the attractive gardens seen today. The castle and Gardens of Mey is open to the public from the 1st April to 30th September from 9am to 4.30pm. The castle is about fifteen miles east from Thurso on the coast and about six miles west of John o' Groats.

Caithness Broch Centre

This is a museum in Aukengill in Caithness and looks at the Iron Age brochs in the area of which there are many. It looks at the people who built the structures and the archaeology of the sites. The museum is located at the Old School House at Auckengill which is on the A99 south from John o' Groats and Freswick about three miles north of Keiss.

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

The remains of this fifteenth century castle with sixteenth century extensions was built by the Second Earl of Caithness, William Sinclair. The castle is under a conservation and preservation programme by the Clan Sinclair Trust. It is open from the beginning of May until the end of September and located at Noss Head about three miles north of Wick.

Grey Cairns of Camster

These two Neolithic tombs are about two hundred metres apart. The Camster Round Cairn is about eighteen metres in diameter and three and half metres in height. A low passage leads to a central chamber. Camster Long Cairn is about sixty-nine and a half metres long. There are two chambers in this impressive cairn, both at the northern end. The site is south from A882 near Watten on a minor road that leads to Badlispter and toward Lybster. The site is about eight miles south from Watten.

Ardvreck Castle

This is a ruined sixteenth century castle that is said to be haunted and is located on a promontory on the southeast of Loch Assynt/Loch Asainte in Sutherland. Loch Assynt is east from Lochinver/Loch an Inbhir and the castle is off the A837 toward the village of Inchnadamph/Innis nan Damh.

Castle Varrich/Caisteal Bharraich

Yhis castle was the ancient home of the Clan Mackay and it's construction date is not known. It is possible that the site is over 1000 years old and built over an old Norse fort. The castle stands on a high point overlooking the Kyle of Tongue close to the village of Tongue/Tunga on the A836 south-southwest from Bettyhill and on the northwest Highland coast.

Stathnaver Museum

The Strathnaver Museum is located to the east of Bettyhill/Am Blaran Odhar in Sutherland and to the south of the A836. The museum looks at the history of the area and the inheritance left by Norse and Gaelic ancestors. The museum is open from April until October Monday's to Saturday www.strathnavermuseum.org.uk . The museum is housed in the former church of St Columba built in 1700 and has archaeological artefacts. Outside of the church stands the elaborately carved 'Farr Stone' which dates from between 800 to 850AD and there are earlier stones within the museum. Booklets are also available from the museum with a guide to The Strathnaver Trail which starts at the museum and takes in 29 sites of historical interest including Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age, Pictish carved stones and pre- Highland Clearance townships.

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