Lairg

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Lairg
Scottish Gaelic: An Luirg
Lairg shown within Scotland
Population	1200
OS grid reference	NC582064
Council area	Highland
Lieutenancy area	Sutherland
Constituent country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LAIRG
Postcode district	IV21
Dialling code	01971
Police	Northern
Fire	Highlands and Islands
Ambulance	Scottish
European Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Scottish Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
List of places: UK • Scotland

Coordinates: 58°01′N 4°24′W / 58.02, -4.4

Lairg (Scottish Gaelic: An Luirg ) is a small town in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland.

It has a population of about 1200. Situated at the south-eastern end of Loch Shin, it is unusual, if not unique, in the northern Highlands in being a sizable town that is not situated on the coast. The town's relatively large size is partly due to it being deliberately provided with a railway station (at NC582039), on what is now called the Far North Line, during the 19th century, the hope being that this would "open up" the north-west of Sutherland. (The Far North Line links Inverness in the south with Thurso and Wick in the north). The town is also an important centre for sheep sales, being the location for some of the largest sheep auctions in Europe.

The areas to the north and west of the town are very sparsely populated, crossed by just two single track roads.

There are current proposals reviewing rail routes to the north of Inverness, including creating a direct rail link to the town of Dornoch via a new bridge and old branch line, which would have the effect of leaving Lairg isolated on a circuitous alternative loop away from the main route. The aim of this idea is to enable very fast trains to serve the remote towns of Thurso and Wick in reasonable time, and establish a viable connection with the Caledonian Sleeper at Inverness, to make business in these centres more viable; however, the effect of reducing Lairg's connections to a "slow service" might well be detrimental to the local economy.