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The harbour possesses

much capacity, and has undergone great, recent, costly improvement. The chief industry is the business of an extensive

coast, both natural and artificial, and | vious church is an interesting piece of from the inland mansions of Rosebank, architecture. Stirkoke, Bilbster, and others. Wick Water descends 10 miles eastward from Loch Watten, but is a sluggish stream, with little attraction to either the sight-fishery; and this controls most of both seer or the angler. The portion of the town on the north bank comprises Wick proper and Louisburgh, the former ancient, the latter modern, but both dingy and irregular; while the portion on the south bank bears the name of Pulteneytown, and is all modern, regular, and pleasant. The Town and County Hall is crowned by a cupolar belfry; the Parish Church is a modern Gothic edifice, with liament. a spire; and the roofless aisle of a pre- | 6722.

the commerce and the manufactures. The town has a key post office, four banking offices, two public news-rooms, eleven places of worship, and three chief inns-the Caledonian, the Wellington, and Kelly's. It is governed by a provost, three bailies, and eleven councillors; and it unites with Tain and four other burghs in sending a member to ParIts population in 1851 was

CXV.-FROM WICK TO TONGUE.

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By road, all along the
coast, with special con-
veyance to Thurso, and
public conveyance
thence to Tongue.
The direct road to
Thurso, through Wat-
ten, is 13 miles shorter
than the one we trace,
and is travelled by
public coach, but pos-
sesses little interest.
Staxigoe fishing vil-
lage, Noss Head,
Girnigoe Castle, Sin-
clair Castle, and Ac-
kergill Castle, right...1399
Riess Lodge, right; shore

of Sinclair Bay begun
to be curved round for
7 miles; Riess Vil-
lage, passed; Wester
Water, crossed; Wes-
ter Loch, left; Keiss
Village, passed; Keiss
House and Castle,
right; Auchingill Vil-
lage, passed; Bulcho-
lie Castle, right;
Freswick, eleven

miles.....
Skirsa Head, and Wart
Hill, right; John o'
Groat's House and

Duncansby Head,

.1400

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graph

.1401

......1402

2 and 4 miles to the
right.........
The Pentland Frith,
approached, and begun
to be followed to the
west.........
Houna, 16 miles. Grand
views of Orkney, here
and onward, right;
Canisbay Church,
right; Brabstermire,
left; Gills Village,
passed through; Bar-
rogill Castle, a mile
to the right........... ..1403
Mey Village, passed

through; Loch Mey,
right; Ratter Burn,
crossed; Barrack Hill,
left; Corsback Burn,
crossed; Dunnet Head,
right; Dunnet Vil-
lage, 26 miles..... ..1404
Head of Dunnet Bay,

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..1406

crossed; Thurso, 341 miles.... Scrabster Road and Holburn Head, right; Knock-na-Fedagh,left; Forss House and Brim's Ness, right; Forss Water, crossed; St. Mary's Chapel, right; CastleDownreay, right; Isauld Burn, crossed; Reay, 46 miles.........1407 Benrah, left; Sandside House, right; Bighouse, right; Halladale Water, crossed with Strath-Halladale to the left; Melvich, 54 miles........ Portskerry, right; Benroy, left; Strathy, 58 miles.... Strathy Water, crossed; Strathy Head, right; Bengriam, 15 miles to the left; Armadale Water, crossed; Benvaddu, 13 miles to the left; Kirktomie, right; Farr, 66 miles.........1410 Naver Water, crossed, with Strathnaver to the left; Benarmine and Benclybric, at the head of Strathnaver, left;

..1408

1409

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1399. NOSS HEAD, at the south side | in its vicinity, is the property of T. of the mouth of Sinclair Bay, 3 miles Sinclair, Esq. Bulcholie Castle, on a north-east of Wick, is a bold, rocky pro- high, peninsulated sea-rock, a little to montory, crowned by a light-house show- the south-south-east, is the ruin of a ing a revolving light, visible at the dis- very ancient fortalice, said by Pennant tance of 15 nautical miles. Sinclair Bay to have been inhabited in the 12th has a half-moon form, on a chord of 6 century by a Danish nobleman. Wart miles; is lined, except in the vicinity of Hill, 2 miles north of Freswick, was Noss Head, by low, sandy shore; and anciently surmounted by a watch-tower. has often lured ships to destruction by being mistaken for the eastern entrance of the Pentland Frith. Castles Girnigoe and Sinclair, on a peninsular rock, a little west of Noss Head, are the grim ruins of the chief ancient baronial stronghold of the Sinclairs, Earls of Caithness. Ackergill Castle, on a sea-rock near the road, 1 mile further west, the seat of Sir George Dunbar, Bart., is partly an ancient, strong, three-storey, square tower, 65 feet high and 45 feet wide, partly a recent, large, castellated mansion. Keiss House, on the north-west coast of Sinclair Bay, is the seat of Kenneth Macleay, Esq.; and Keiss Castle, adjacent, is the remnant of a small old feudal fortalice. The earldom of Caithness having been conveyed by the Crown, in 1675, to Campbell of Glenorchy, afterwards Earl of Breadalbane, a claim to it was defiantly made by George Sinclair of Keiss, and led to a notable encounter. The Campbells, to the number of about 700, came north from Argyleshire to achieve a triumph; and the Sinclairs, disdaining to stop them among the mountains, and imagining they would be an easy prey, met them in an open tract 2 miles west of Wick, and sustained a terrific overthrow. This event was the occasion of the well-known musical airs," The Campbells are coming," and "The Braes of Glenorchy."

1400. FRESWICK township stands on a small, pleasant, low-shored bay, and has about 420 inhabitants. Freswick House,

1401. DUNCANSBY HEAD, the Berubium of Ptolemy, at the north-eastern extremity of the Scottish continent, is a bold, grand, circular promontory, about 2 miles in circumference. Its precipitous faces are gashed with ravines, one of them spanned by a natural bridge; and its summit bears remains of an ancient watch-tower, and commands a magnificent view. Two insulated rocks in its vicinity, called the Stacks of Duncansby, shoot up from the sea like great towers, and have a fantastic outline. John o' Groat's House, 13 mile to the west, was a structure of the early part of the 16th century, built by a Dutch settler of the name of John de Grot, and notable for a whimsical contrivance to prevent family strife; but is now represented by only some substructions on a small green knoll. Houna, on the coast, 1 mile further west, is the ferry station to Orkney, and has a post office under Wick, and an inn.

1402. THE PENTLAND FRITH separates Continental Scotland from Orkney, and connects the German Ocean with the Atlantic. It is about 17 miles long, and from 6 to 8 miles wide. Its tides are rapid, obstructed, and eddying, and draw largely on the experience, vigilance, and skill of the navigator. A group of islets and rocks, called the Pentland Skerries, lies near the middle of the east end of the Frith; and the largest islet is crowned with two light-houses,

470

BARROGILL CASTLE-THURSO.

showing two fixed lights 100 feet apart, of Edinburgh. Olrick House, near the respectively 140 and 170 feet high, visi-church, is the seat of James Smith, Esq. ble at the distances of 16 and 18 nautical miles. Stroma, or "the island in the current," lies in the Frith, 2 miles north of Houna, measures 7 miles in circuit, and has about 212 inhabitants.

1403. BARROGILL CASTLE, on the coast, 5 miles west of Houna, the seat of the Earl of Caithness, has undergone great modern additions, and is an elegant residence. Ratter House, 3 miles to the west of it, is the property of George Traill, Esq.; and Barroch House, 73 miles to the south, is the seat of Sir John Sinclair, Bart. Remarkable improvements have been made, in recent years, on the estates of these proprietors, and on that of Mr. Smith of Olrick. The views over the Pentland Frith in the vicinity of Barrogill, and all elsewhere between Houna and Thurso, are grand.

Olrick Hill, a little to the south-west,
has an altitude of 453 feet, shows vestiges
of an ancient watch-tower, and commands
a very extensive view. Murkle House,
on the coast, 2 miles north-north-west of
Olrick Hill, is the property of Sir John
Gordon Sinclair, Bart. A place on Murkle
estate, near the mansion, was the scene
of a famous battle between two Scandi-
navian Earls; and another place on it,
washed by the burn of Closters, was the
site of a nunnery. A road goes direct
from Castleton to Wick, and has an inn,
4 miles distant, at Bowermadden.
rude round tower and a large standing-
stone, called Bower Tower and Stone
Lud, belonging to the Scandinavian times,
occur a little south of Bowermadden;
and the former crowns a ridgy eminence,
and commands an extensive view.

A

1404. DUNNET village is a small place, 1406. THURSO is a market town and with a post office under Thurso, a good a sea-port. It stands at the influx of inn, and a parish church. A hilly promon-Thurso Water to a south-western off-set tory, 3 miles long and 2 miles broad, goes northward from the vicinity of the village, and terminates in Dunnet Head, the most northerly land of the Scottish continent. The sea faces of the promontory all round are broken rocks from 100 to 400 feet high; and the Head is crowned by a light-house with fixed light, visible at the distance of 23 nautical miles. Some caves occur on the sea faces; and two subterranean Picts' houses occur in a green mound at Ham, near the north-east point of the isthmus. A large bay, bearing the name of Dunnet, strikes south-eastward from the western side of the isthmus, and is bounded on the further side by Holburn Head, beyond Thurso.

1405. CASTLETON village, near the head of Dunnet Bay, contains a post office under Thurso, carries on extensive exportation of paving flag, and has about 500 inhabitants. Olrick Church, in its southern vicinity, is a handsome edifice of 1841, after a design by David Cousin

of Dunnet Bay. The tract around it is prevailingly low, but commands superb views of the neighbouring coasts and of the Orkney Islands. Holburn Head, 2} miles to the north, displays magnificent cliff scenery; and the Clett Rock, standing detached from the Read, rises about 400 feet out of the sea, and makes a grand appearance in a storm. Thurso Water descends 27 miles, from the Paps of Caithness; brings off the superfluence of at least twenty lakes, all well stocked with trout, and one of them with char; and is one of the earliest and best salmon streams in Scotland. Thurso Castle, a venerable old edifice, in the eastern vicinity of the town, is the seat of Sir George Sinclair, Bart., redolent with the memory of the statist and agricultural improver, Sir John Sinclair; and associated in literature with the names of Lady Colquhoun and Misses Hannah and Catherine Sinclair. Harold's Tomb, a little further east, is a striking monumental structure, erected by Sir

REAY-TORRISDALE.

John Sinclair over the grave of a famous Earl of Caithness, who was slain in battle in 1190. The Palace, about half a mile west of the town, is the vestige of an ancient strong residence of the Bishops of Caithness. Forss House, 3 miles further west, is the seat of James Sinclair, Esq. The main body of the town is old, irregular, and dingy; but a considerable extension is modern and handsome. The Parish Church is a large fine edifice of 1832, with a tower; and another church is an elegant structure of 1860, with a spire. Sir John Sinclair's Monument is a statue of the size of life, on a pedestal 10 feet high. The town has a key post office, three banking offices, six places of worship, and two chief inns-the Caledonian and the Dunbar. Its population in 1851 was 2908.

1407. REAY village has a post office under Thurso, two places of worship, and about 110 inhabitants; and gives the peerage title of Baron to the family of Mackay. The scenery around it, with the rock-screened bay of Sandside in front and a sweep of round-topped hills behind, is sequestered and picturesque. Benrah Hill, in the southern vicinity, has an altitude of 780 feet, and is pierced with a curious cave. Sandside House, in the north-western vicinity, is the seat of Donald Macdonald, Esq.; and Castle Downreay, 3 miles to the northeast, is the ruin of an ancient seat of the Mackays. Lochs Scirach, Shurery, and Cailm, from 3 to 9 miles south-southeast of Reay, abound with trout; and Forss Water, carrying off the superfluence of two of them to the sea near Forss House, midway between Reay and Thurso, is well frequented by sea-trout and grilse. 1408. MELVICH village, on the left side of the mouth of Halladale Water, at the head of a small bay, is a small, scattered place, with a post office under Thurso, and a good inn. Bighouse mansion, on the other side of the stream, was formerly the seat of an old branch of the Mackays, and is now the property

471

of the Duke of Sutherland. Halladale Water rises among high mountains, runs northward along a hill-screened vale, and has a total course of 16 miles. Its current, till within 3 miles of the mouth, is rapid; but it then becomes slow, and forms a chain of very fine angling pools, well stocked with salmon.

1409. STRATHY village, at the mouth of Strathy Water and head of Strathy Bay, contains two places of worship and a neat, small inn. Strathy Water descends 14 miles along a hill-screened vale, and is frequented by many sea-trout, and by a few grilse and salmon. Strathy Head, at the west side of the bay, 3 miles north of the village, commands a view from Dunnet Head to Cape Wrath. The coast around and westward consists of mural or projecting rocks, from 20 to 200 feet high, torn by fissures and pierced with caves.

1410. FARR, at the right side of the mouth of Naver Water, is a locality with a post office under Thurso, a comfortable inn, a Parish Church, and a Free Church. Several Scandinavian dunes occur along the course of Naver Water; a monumental stone, very ancient, 12 feet long, with hieroglyphic carvings, occurs in the parish church-yard; an assemblage of tumuli, believed to be commemorative of a battle with the Danes, occurs half a mile to the cast; and the ruins of an ancient castle, supposed to have been the seat of the ancestors of Lord Reay, stand on a small peninsula a mile to the north. Naver Water issues from Loch Naver, runs 16 miles northward along a fine strath, now nearly all pastoral, but formerly occupied by about 1200 inhabitants; and is one of the earliest and most productive salmon streams in the North of Scotland. See 1416.

1411. TORRISDALE Bay, 2 miles west of Farr, is an inlet at the mouth of Borgie Water. Ellan-na-Naoimh, an islet a little north-west of the bay, has remains of an ancient chapel and cemetery, and is so tunnelled and perforated

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as, in certain states of the tide and the 1412. TONGUE village, or Kirkibell, wind, to make a jet d'eau, 30 feet high, stands on the right side of the Kyle of and to emit a detonating sound like the Tongue, 22 miles from the head; and firing of cannon. Ellan-na-Roan, a contains a post office under Lairg, and a larger islet, and inhabited, a little commodious inn. The Kyle is a sea further west, is girt with high, pre-loch 8 miles long, striking to the southcipitous, deeply-fissured rocks, which south-west, 1 mile in mean width, occasion furious whistling in high holding in its mouth a group of small, winds; and shows, on the north side, a low, rabbit islands, and hung round by noble natural arch, 150 feet high and 70 grand scenery, with the magnificent feet wide. Borgie Water issues from mountains, Benhope and Benloyal, at Loch Loyal, forms expansions called the head. Tongue House, on a spit of Lochs Craggie and Slam, and runs 7 land at the foot of a high, craggy hill, miles north-north-eastward thence to about a mile below the village, is a plain Torrisdale Bay. Its waters abound old mansion, formerly the seat of Lord with trout, and are well frequented by Reay, now the property of the Duke of grilse and salmon; and those of Lochs Sutherland. Castle Varrich, on a small Craggie and Slam contain also large yel-promontory above the village, is the low trout, large pike, char, and salmo shell of an old square feudal keep. See ferox. See 1417.

1417.

CXVI. FROM BONAR BRIDGE TO TONGUE.

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Bridge of Shin, left;
Lairg, 11 miles.........1414
Road through Strathfleet
to Dornoch, right;
Loch Shin begun to be
followed up for 2 miles;
Savalmore, right; road
to Laxford, left; Tirry
Water, begun to be
followed up the right
bank to the head;
Dalcork, left; an ex-
tensive tract of high
uninhabited upland,
begun to be traversed;
Rhian, right; Lord
Reay's Green Table,
left; the Pass of Crask,
traversed; Strathva-
gastie, begun to be
followed down to the
foot;

Benclybric,

Pars

graph .1415

right..... Benhee, 8 miles to the left; head of Loch Naver, right............1416 Aultnaharra Inn, 32 miles. Road down Strathnaver to Farr, right; road, through Strathmore, to Duirness, left; left side of Loch Loyal, begun to be followed down to near the foot.......... .1417 Benloyal and Benhiel, left; Benstomino, on the further side of Loch Loyal, right; Benhope, 7 miles to the left; Kyle of Tongue, left front; Tongue village, 50 miles........................1412

fall of 8 feet, called the Linn of Shin, occurs near the head, and is leaped by many salmon. The stream abounds with trout, and has high repute among salmon-anglers. Loch Shin is 18 miles

1413. SHIN WATER issues from Loch Shin, and runs 7 miles southward to the Oikell, a mile below Bridge of Shin. Its vale is a narrow strip between heathy slopes, and contains the wooded grounds of Achany House, a in length, less than a mile in mean seat of Sir James Matheson, Bart. A width, and extends from north-west to

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