Thurso Bay

Last updated

Thurso Bay, known also as Scrabster Bay, is a bay of Atlantic water between the points of Clairdon Head and Holborn Head on the north coast of Caithness, Scotland. [1]

The bay receives fresh water from the River Thurso and the Wolf Burn. The river mouth is at the most southerly reach of the bay and at least two kilometres from the more northerly and more open waters of the Atlantic. The Atlantic here has Orkney to the northeast and the Pentland Firth and Dunnet Bay to the east. The points of Clairdon Head and Holborn Head are separated by four or five kilometres of water, which is also the bay's widest extent.

Within the bay, about three kilometres west/northwest of the river mouth, Scrabster harbour has deep water in the shelter of Holborn Head and berths a ferry which links mainland Scotland with Stromness in Orkney. Holborn Head Lighthouse is about one kilometre south of the headland's point and close to Scrabster Harbour.

The river mouth serves now as a small harbour and was a busy commercial port during the 19th century. Tidal water reaches inland about one kilometre beyond the river mouth and about twice the distance usually indicated on Ordnance Survey maps. Sandy beach and the burgh of Thurso front the bay west of the river mouth.

Wolf Burn enters the bay at Burnside, midway between the river mouth and Scrabster Harbour.

58°37′N3°31′W / 58.617°N 3.517°W / 58.617; -3.517


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stromness</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Stromness is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentland Firth</span> Strait between the Orkney Islands and Caithness in the north of Scotland

The Pentland Firth is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A9 road (Scotland)</span> Major road in Scotland

The A9 is a major road in Scotland running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 mi (439 km), it is the longest road in Scotland and the fifth-longest A-road in the United Kingdom. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o' Groats, and has been called the spine of Scotland. It is one of the three major north–south trunk routes linking the Central Belt to the Highlands – the others being the A82 and the A90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurso</span> Town in Scotland

Thurso is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal standpoint, Thurso is located further north than the southernmost point of Norway and in addition lies more than 500 miles (800 km) north of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caithness</span> Historic county in northern Scotland

Caithness is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnet Head</span> Most northerly point of Great Britain

Dunnet Head is a headland in Highland, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wick, Caithness</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Wick is a town and royal burgh in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay. "Wick Locality" had a population of 6,954 at the time of the 2011 census, a decrease of 3.8% from 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wick River</span> River in Highland (Council Area), Scotland

Wick River, known also as River Wick, is a river in Caithness in Highland, Scotland. It has its source at the confluence of Scouthal Burn and Strath Burn near Achingale Mill at the northern end of Bardarclay Moss in the Flow Country. The river estuary, is in the North Sea bay of Wick and is straddled by the town of Wick. The source is at a height of about 25 metres, about 11 kilometres west and 2 kilometres north of the estuary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Thurso</span>

The River Thurso has Loch Rumsdale in Caithness as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of Thurso and Wick with Inverness. At its source and until it reaches Loch More the river is known also as Strathmore Water. Caithness is in the Highland area of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forss Water</span> River in Scotland

Forss Water, known also as Forss River, has its source at the northern end of Loch Shurrey, at grid reference ND042568. About 13 kilometres north of its source the river flows into Crosskirk Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at ND029700. Crosskirk Bay is on the north coast of Great Britain and about 8 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, in Highland, Scotland. The river marked the eastern extent of the Clan Mackay raid in the Sandside Chase of 1437.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnside, Highland</span> Residential area of Thurso, Caithness, Scotland

Burnside is a predominantly residential area of Thurso, Caithness, in the Highland council area of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A882 road</span> Road in Scotland

The A882 road is entirely within Caithness in the Highland area of Scotland. It has a length of about 23 kilometres (14 mi) and runs generally west/northwest from the A99 in the county town of Wick to the A9 in the Georgemas area.

Holborn Head is a headland on the north-facing Atlantic coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. The point of Holborn Head is at 58°37′23″N03°32′06″W. It has a lighthouse at its south end and the remains of an old fort at its tip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gills Bay</span>

Gills Bay, which is situated about 3 mi (4.8 km) west of John o' Groats with the community of Gills close by, has one of the longest stretches of low-lying rock coast on the northern shores of Caithness. Its main features are a small harbour and the pier used as the mainland terminal for Pentland Ferries. The harbour shelters some small local boats together with those used for working the sheep on the off lying island of Stroma. In the right sea conditions the area is sometimes used for surfing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill of Ayreland</span> Mill in Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK

The Mill of Ayreland is an historic watermill driven by water force of the Burn of Ayreland, a northwesterly flowing coastal stream within Mainland Orkney, Scotland, that empties into the Clestrain Sound approximately five kilometres southerly of Stenness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clett</span>

Clett is a name used for many uninhabited Scottish islets and one to the south, though also in the area inhabited by Vikings. They include -

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoy Sound</span>

Hoy Sound is a body of salt water subject to tidal currents situated south of the town of Stromness in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfburn distillery</span>

Wolfburn distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. After ceasing production in the 1860s, a new distillery of the same name opened in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nepean Bay</span> Bay in South Australia

Nepean Bay is a bay located on the north-east coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia about 130 kilometres south-south-west of Adelaide. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders, after Sir Evan Nepean on 21 March 1802.

References

  1. North Sea Pilot. J. D. Potter. 1895. p. 47.