Brough, Caithness
| Brough | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Brough Slipway | |
  Brough Location within the Caithness area | |
| OS grid reference | ND222733 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THURSO |
| Postcode district | KW14 |
| Dialling code | 01847 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament |
|
Brough is a small village (population 66) in Caithness in the far North of Scotland.[1] Located on the B855 single-track road a few miles south east of Dunnet Head (the most northerly point on the British mainland), Brough is the most northerly village on the British mainland. The village of Dunnet and the wide sandy beaches of Dunnet Bay lie a mile to the south. Brough is within the civil parish of Dunnet.[2][3] Brough is the site of Brough Castle, a twelfth Century Norse fortress; the ruins are on the property now known as Heathcliff.
The village has a bus stop and had a village post office and tea room, now closed. Brough harbour, a small cliff-enclosed shingle bay to the north of the village, faces Little Clett rock, an islet which shelters the harbour from the north. The slipway was originally built to assist the construction and maintenance of Dunnet Head lighthouse (1831). The harbour is quite sheltered, but is surrounded the notorious, powerful currents of the Pentland Firth and the rocky cliffs of Dunnet Head.
To the south of the village lies St. John's Loch, which supports large, beautifully marked specimen brown trout.[4]. The surrounding countryside is wild, largely treeless and dominated by peat bog and small crofting farmsteads.
Name[edit]
The name Brough is pronounced to rhyme with the Scottish word loch (in contrast to the English town of Brough, which is pronounced to rhyme with rough)[5]
The village name comes from the word Broch, a type of ancient Scottish circular building which served as a fortified homestead. The remains of at least one broch exist in the area around the village.
Wildlife[edit]
The village and the area are popular with ornithologists, providing opportunities to see puffins (at Brough Harbour) along with Razorbills, Guillemots, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Great Northern Divers.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ Thomas Brown (of Sanguhar.) (1807). Union Gazetteer for Gt. Br. & Ireland ... p. 175. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ Bartholomew's Half Inch to Mile Map of Scotland - Sheet 27 Caithness; publ. John Bartholomew, 1929
- ^ Microsoft; Nokia (26 June 2017). "Brough, Caithness" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ Douglas, Gordon. "St John's Loch". Dounreay Fly Fishing Association. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Secret Scotland. "Brough of Birsay". Brough of Birsay. Secret Scotland. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Dunnet Head". RSPB. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
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