Thurso

This article refers to the town in Scotland. For the city in Canada, see Thurso, Quebec.

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Thurso (from Old Norse, perhaps meaning Thor's River) (Inbhir The?rsa in Scottish Gaelic) is a town and a burgh on the north coast of Scotland. The town lies at the northern extreme of the A9 road, the main highway linking Caithness with the south of the country, and is about 32 kilometres (20 miles) west of John O Groats. Thurso is the most northerly location served by Britain's rail network, which links the town directly with Wick, the county town of Caithness, and with Inverness, which is the administrative centre of the Highland Council region.

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The town is within the parish of Thurso, which has the parishes of Olrig and Bower to the east, Halkirk to the south, and Reay to the west. The parish of Thurso has also a north-facing Atlantic coastline stretching from Crosskirk Bay in the west to the Haven in Dunnet Bay in the east.

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The River Thurso flows through the town and thus into Thurso Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The river estuary serves as a small harbour. Thurso has a fine harbour and beach and looks out over the Firth to the Orkney Island of Hoy and the famous towering Old Man of Hoy (A stac of rock standing out from the main island). About two kilometres (one mile) to the west of the estuary Scrabster Harbour berths a ferry ship, operated by Northlink and called "Hamnavoe", which links Thurso and the Scottish mainland with Stromness on the Orkney Islands. Scrabster has deep water in the shelter of Holborn Head.

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Area offices of Highland Council are located in the town, as is the main campus of North Highland College. Thurso boasts also a small museum, 2 screen cinema, ten-pin bowling, a small skatepark and an internet cafe for cybergaming.

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The town's history stretches back, at least, to the era of Norse Orcadian rule in Caithness, which ended, conclusively, in 1266. The town was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe, especially during the 19th century. Old St Peter's Kirk is said to date from circa 1220 and the time of Caithness Bishop Gilbert Murray, who died in 1245. Much of the town is however a planned 19th century development, and a major expansion occurred in the mid 20th century when an experimental nuclear power plant was established at Dounreay, about fifteen kilometres (nine miles) to the west of the town. Within a period of perhaps ten years Thurso's human population then mushroomed, from around 3000 to about 9000, as Dounreay attracted skilled immigrants from all quarters of Scotland and the United Kingdom.

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Town: In American English, a town is usually a municipal corporation that is smaller than a city but larger than a village. In some cases, "town" is an alternate name for "city" or "village" (especially a larger village). Sometimes, the word "town" is short for "township."...

Burgh: Burgh can refer to the following:...

Coast: The coast is defined as the part of the land adjoining or near the ocean. A coastline is properly, a line on a map indicating the disposition of a coast but the word is often used to refer to the coast itself. The adjective, coastal describes something as being on, near or having to do with a coas...