The North East Coast

The A9 follows the coastline north of Dornoch to Wick.  Loch Fleet, about 5 miles north of Dornoch, is a tidal estuary where there is a nature reserve.  Golspie, a few miles further north, has a championship golf course and sandy beach.  Its main attraction is the many-turreted Dunrobin Castle which is the seat of the Sutherland clan who were mainly responsible for the Highland Clearances.  It was originally built in the 13th century but much of the current house is 18th century with an obvious French influence.  There is also a museum in the summer house within the extensive formal gardens.  A few miles south of Brora is the Iron Age broch of Carn Liath.  The fishing village of Helmsdale, 5 miles north of Brora, provides access to excellent salmon fishing on the River Helmsdale.  The village's Timespan Heritage Centre depicts the local history including Viking raids, the Clearances and gold prospecting (which continues today at Baile an Or, 8 miles to the west).

Just north of Dunbeath (which has its own heritage centre) are the interesting Laidhay Croft Museum and the Clan Gunn Heritage Centre & Museum.  The Waterlines Visitor Centre in Lybster, a purpose-built 19th century fishing village, focuses on the local fishing industry and has CCTV of birds nesting in the nearby cliffs.  There several sites of ancient standing stones nearby: the Grey Cairns of Camister dating from 4000 BC; the Achavanich Standing Stones; and the Hill o'Many Stanes - forming 22 rows of stones dating from 2000 BC.

Wick was originally a Viking settlement and has a fascinating Heritage Centre which focuses on the local fishing industry and an interesting photographic collection.  There are two castles on the cliffs near Wick: the ruins of the 12th century Old Wick Castle to the south; and Castle Sinclair to the north.  John O'Groats lies 17 miles north of Wick on the A99 and the Northlands Viking Centre at Auckengill provides an interesting account of its Viking history.

Information
There is a tourist office in the High Street in Wick.  Wick airport services flights from Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Orkney and Aberdeen.  There are also Citylink buses to Inverness and Thurso and local buses to John O'Groats with a train link to Inverness and a passenger ferry to Orkney.  Hotels in the area include the Belgrave Arms Hotel in Helmsdale and the Nethercliffe Hoteland MacKay's Hotel in Wick.  Restaurants include La Mirage and Bunillidh in Helmsdale, and the Quayside, Bord de L'Eau, Alexander Bain and Cabrelli's in Wick.