Thurso, Highland

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This article refers to the town in Scotland. For the city in Canada, see Thurso, Quebec.
St. Peter's Kirk, Thurso
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St. Peter's Kirk, Thurso

Thurso[1] (from Old Norse, meaning 'Bull's water') (Inbhir Theòrsa in Scottish Gaelic)[2] is a town and a burgh on the north coast of Scotland.

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[edit] Geography

Thurso is the northernmost town on the British mainland, situated at the northern extreme of the A9 road, the main road linking Caithness with the south of the country, and is 20 miles (32 km) west of John O' Groats and 21 miles (34 km) northwest of Wick, the closest town. The nearest city is Inverness, some 110 miles (177 km) 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,[3] 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 into Thurso Bay and the Pentland Firth. 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 stack of rock standing out from the main island). 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. There is also a sizeable British Telecom call centre on the west side of the town.

[edit] History

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 the Dounreay Nuclear Power Development Establishment was established at Dounreay,[4] 9 miles (14.5 km) 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.

[edit] Local government

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.

[edit] Port of Scrabster

The port of Scrabster lies about 1½ miles (2 km) to the west of the estuary of the River Thurso. Scrabster has deep water in the shelter of Holborn Head.

The harbour includes a berth for the M.V. Hamnavoe, a roll-on-roll-off ferry operated by Northlink linking the Scottish mainland with Stromness on Orkney.

From June 2007 a summer-only weekly ferry service will connect Scrabster with the Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands, Iceland, Denmark and Norway. The service will be operated by the Faroese company Smyril Line.

[edit] Sport

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, also known as 'Accies' 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 characters 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 Pentland Firth 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. In April, The European Surfing Qualifying was held in the notorious Pentland Firth with world famous surfers coming to battle it out for a place in the championships.

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.

[edit] Twin Towns

[edit] Main road junctions

From Scrabster Harbour (Ordnance Survey grid reference ND102704) 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 5 miles (8 km) south of Thurso, the A9 has a locally important junction with the A882 (ND156601), which leads towards Wick.

From the A9 near Burnside (ND107689), in Thurso, the A836 leads generally west towards Reay, Melvich, Bettyhill and Tongue.

From the A9 in central Thurso (ND116683) the B874 leads generally south towards Halkirk.

From the A9 in the Millbank area of Thurso (ND119681) the A836 leads generally east towards Castletown and John O Groats.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Ordnance Survey grid reference for Thurso: ND116683
  2. ^ The Scottish Gaelic name is a translation which assumes the town is named for the river.
  3. ^ For details of the rail links with Wick and Inverness, see Far North Line
  4. ^ Ordnance Survey grid reference for Dounreay: NC989671

[edit] External links

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