Thurso, Caithness

Thurso is the most northerly town in Scotland, around 110 miles from Inverness.  The historic town of Thurso stretches back to at least the Norse rule of Caithness.  Thurso was an important Norse port.  Only the ruins of St Peter's Church remain of medieval Thurso, parts of which date back to the early 1100's.

Thurso expanded rapidly in the mid 20th century due to the Dounreay nuclear power plant.  Within five years the population grew from around 2,500 to 12,000 people.  After construction of the plant was completed the population dropped to around 9,000, where it has more or less stayed since.

The River Thurso flows through the town, out to the Pentland Firth.  The River Thurso is among the best salmon rivers in the north, on average the river produces 1,100 salmon a year, a number which is on the rise. For more information please visit www.thursoriver.co.uk.  Thurso is about 6 miles away from Halkirk, where the "Home Beat" on the River Thurso is situated.

Scrabster port located 2.4km from Thurso is the 2nd largest whitefish harbour in Scotland, and provides a ferry crossing to Stromness, Orkney.

Thurso & Caithness are benefiting from the growth of the renewable energy sector in the area.  The Pentland Firth represents an enormous percentage of the UK's tidal generation potential, whilst wind farms are appearing all over the place.  Gairland LLP is a strong supporter of all renewable energy & it is our hope to integrate more renewable energy sources into our properties in the near future.  With the Scottish Government's target of 100% of Scotland's power coming from renewable sources by 2020, Caithness is bound to play a major part in achieving this.

The main campus of the North Highland College UHI is located in Thurso, along with Thurso High School & three primary schools.  The North Highland College website can be found at www.northhighland.ac.uk.

Thurso is one of the competition sites for the European Surfing Championships, surfing is a pass time for many local people, and draws visitors from all over the world.  Thurso became a venue in the ASP World Qualifying Series of 2006, which returned in 2007 as one of only six top "6 star prime" events on the tour.