Thurso

Scotland > Highland Counties > Caithness > Thurso

Thurso is a small town in Caithness, at the northern end of the A9, 20 miles north east of Wick. It was originally an important port in Viking times and later trading with ports throughout northern Europe. It was expanded and improved in the 1790's by Sir John Sinclair.

In the 1950's and 60's, there was a big influx of people to the town, employed by the nearby Dounreay Nuclear Power Station which meant housing developments and school had to be built. Many people now work at the port of Scrabster, a mile from the town centre, from which ferries sail to Stromness in the Orkney Islands.

The town is the northernmost point of the British railway network, with trains running south to Inverness.