Sutherland is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire to the south and the Atlantic to the north and west. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe, especially on its western fringe where the mountains meet the sea. These include high sea cliffs and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks.
Helmsdale is a village on the east coast of Sutherland, in the Highland council area of Scotland. The modern village was planned in 1814 to resettle communities that had been removed from the surrounding straths as part of the Highland Clearances.
The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-track, with only passing loops at some intermediate stations allowing trains to pass each other. Like other railway lines in the Highlands and northern Lowlands, it is not electrified and all trains are diesel-powered.
Bonar Bridge is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland to the west and the Dornoch Firth to the east in the Parish of Creich in the Highland council area of Scotland.
Helmsdale railway station is a railway station serving the village of Helmsdale in the Highland council area, northern Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, between Brora and Kildonan, 101 miles 40 chains (163.3 km) from Inverness. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
Kildonan may refer to the following places:
Kinbrace is a small village in Sutherland in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies at the junction of the A897 and B871 and is 17 miles (27 km) from Helmsdale by road. The village has a station on the Far North Line. Few people live in the village, with the population standing at 51 in the 2011 Census.
Upper Bighouse is a remote linear crofting township, which lies on the west bank of the Halladale River in the former county of Sutherland. It is now in the Highland council area.
The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was a Scottish railway company that built a line from Helmsdale, the terminus of the Duke of Sutherland's Railway to Wick and Thurso in Caithness, giving the northern towns access to Inverness. It was driven through by the efforts of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland and the engineer Joseph Mitchell in the face of apathy from interests in Wick.
Melvich is a village in the county of Sutherland on the north coast of Scotland. It is situated on the A836 road, near the mouth of the River Halladale. It has a successful Gaelic choir. The A897 road which runs from Helmsdale, through the Strath of Kildonan and past Kinbrace, terminates at Melvich.
The Duke of Sutherland's Railway was a railway in Sutherland, Scotland, built by the 3rd Duke of Sutherland.
Roderick Ross CVO CBE KPM was Chief Constable of Edinburgh City Police from 1900 to 1935.
Kilphedir is a small remote settlement, which sits in the Strath Ullie valley in Helmsdale, Sutherland, east coast of the Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.
Gartymore is an area, lying on the east coast of Sutherland and located less than 0.5 miles south west of Helmsdale, close to West Helmsdale, in the Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.
Invernaver is a small, remote hamlet, situated on the west bank of the River Naver as it flows into Torrisdale Bay, in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.
The River Helmsdale is one of the major east-flowing rivers of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It flows broadly southeastwards from Loch Badanloch down the Strath of Kildonan, gathering the waters of the Bannock Burn on its left and the Abhainn na Frithe on its right before discharging into the Moray Firth on the North Sea at the town of Helmsdale. Other significant tributaries of the Helmsdale include the left-bank Suisgill Burn and the right-bank Craggie Water. Loch Achnamoine which is just over 1 km in length, lies on the line of the river 1 mi / 1.5 km downstream of Loch Badanloch. Loch Badanloch is one of a complex of three interconnecting lochs - the other two being Loch nan Clàr and Loch Rimsdale which gather waters from the moors on the southern edge of the Flow Country via the Allt an Lòin Tharsuinn, Allt Lòn a' Chùil and Rimsdale Burn.
Strath of Kildonan, also known as Strath Ullie,, is a strath in Sutherland, in the north of Scotland. It extends in a north-westerly direction from Helmsdale towards Kinbrace.
Events from the year 1811 in Scotland.
The Far North Line was built in several stages through sparsely populated and undulating terrain within the Highland area of Scotland. Extending to 161 miles (259 km), it runs north from Inverness to Wick and Thurso in Caithness, and currently carries a regular passenger train service.
The Kildonan Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Strath of Kildonan, Sutherland, in the Highlands of Scotland in 1869. Small amounts of gold had long been discovered in the Kildonan area. A nugget with enough material for a ring was discovered in 1818. Public interest was sparked, and a gold rush started, following a newspaper announcement in 1868 of the results of Robert Nelson Gilchrist's more systematic search for gold. The gold rush proper began in January 1869. At this stage those searching for gold stayed in Helmsdale or more ad hoc accommodation near the Kildonan burn including the old Kildonan Church.
