This article refers to the town in Scotland. For the city in Canada, see Thurso, Quebec. Thurso is a city in the Papineau Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais region of western Quebec. ...

St. Peter's Kirk, Thurso

Thurso^[1] (from Old Norse, perhaps meaning Thor's River) (Inbhir Theòrsa in Scottish Gaelic)^[2] 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^[3], which is the administrative centre of the Highland Council region. Download high resolution version (1280x960, 374 KB)St. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 374 KB)St. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town In American English, a town is usually a municipal corporation that is smaller than a city but larger than a village. ... Burgh can refer to the following: Burgh (pronounced burruh) - A highly autonomous unit of local government in Scotland, with rights to representation in the Parliament of Scotland, in use from at least the 9th century until their abolition in 1975 when a new regional structure of local government was introduced... A coastal image featured on a United States postal stamp. ... Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland Gardens in Scotland... The A9 north of Brora The A9 is a major road running from the Falkirk area in the south of Scotland to Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. ... A typical rural county road in Indiana, USA, where traffic drives on the right. ... Caithness (Gallaibh in Gaelic) is a traditional county and former administrative county within the Highland area of Scotland. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Network Rails logo Network Rail is a British not for dividend Company limited by guarantee that owns the fixed assets of that part of the British railway system that formerly belonged to British Rail, the now-defunct UK state-owned rail operator. ... Wick is a coastal town on the main highway linking John O Groats with southern Britain, a royal burgh and the county town of Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. ... A county town is the location of the administrative headquarters of a county. ... Inverness (Inbhir Nis in Scottish Gaelic) is the only city in the Scottish Highlands. ... Highland (a Ghaidhealtachd in Gaelic) is the name of the largest administrative region in Scotland. ...

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. A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ... Olrig is a parish in Caithness, Scotland and the main settlement in the parish is Castletown. ... Bower may mean or refer to: The Parish of Bower in Caithness, Highland Scotland Walter Bower (1385- 1449) Asteroid 1639 Bower, namesake of the Bower family of asteroids. ... Halkirk is a town in Caithness, Scotland. ... Reay (Ordnance Survey grid reference NC964647) is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay, Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ...

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. The River Thurso has Loch Rumsdale in Caithness as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of Thurso and Wick with Inverness. ... Thurso Bay, known also as Scrabster Bay, is Pentland Firth water between the points of Clairdon Head and Holborn Head on the north coast of Britain and Caithness, Scotland. ... The Orkney Islands form one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and are a Lieutenancy Area. ... Hoy shown within Orkney Islands Hoy (from Old Norse há-øy meaning high island) is one of the Orkney Islands. ... The Old Man of Hoy is a 460 foot stack of red sandstone perched on a plinth of igneous basalt, close to Rackwick Bay on the west coast of the island of Hoy, in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. ... Stromness is the second-largest town in the Orkney Islands and is located on the southwestern edge of the mainland of Orkney. ... The Orkney Islands form one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and are a Lieutenancy Area. ... Holborn Head is a headland on the north-facing Atlantic coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. ...

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, a two-screen cinema, ten-pin bowling, a small skatepark and an internet cafe for cybergaming. A museum is typically a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment. ... E-Corner First internet cafe, was located at Waverley station An Internet cafe or cybercafe is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access for a fee, usually per hour or minute; sometimes one can have unmetered access with a pass for a day or month, etc. ...

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^[1], 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. Norsemen (the Norse) is the indigenous or ancient name for the people of Scandinavia, including (but not limited to) the Vikings. ... The Orkney Islands form one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and are a Lieutenancy Area. ... UKAEA Dounreay Dounreay Nuclear Power Station operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) on the North coast of Caithness in Scotland, was the worlds first electricity-producing Fast Breeder Reactor. ...

Local government

Three wards of the Highland Council are named as Thurso wards: Thurso West, Thurso Central and Thurso East. A ward is an electoral district used in local politics, most notably in England, Scotland, and Wales, as well as Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and many cities in the United States and the federal district of Washington, DC. Wards are usually named after neighbourhoods... The Highland area (Roinn na Gàidhealtachd in Gaelic) is a unitary authority area in the Scottish Highlands and the largest administrative region in Scotland. ...

Sport

The football (soccer) team, Thurso FC (nicknamed "the Vikings"), plays in the North Caledonian League. Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) The Current Laws of the Game (LOTG) The Rec. ... Thurso Football Club are a football (soccer) club playing in the North Caledonian Football League (NCFL) in Scotland. ... The North Caledonian Football League (NCFL) is an amateur football (soccer) league operating in the highlands of Scotland. ...

Another football team in Thurso is the Pathetic Sharks. As their name indicates, they are not exactly Premier League quality. FA Premier League logo The FA Premier League (which, for sponsorship/legal reasons, is often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in the UK and the Barclays English Premier League internationally) is a league competiton for English Football clubs located at the top of the English football league system (above...

Surfing, for a few years, was a big pastime with many of the local youths. The power of the waves rolling in from the North Atlantic has been compared with those of Hawaii. Certainly, for those with a penchant for barrelling reef-breaks, Thurso East leaves little to be desired on a good day. On a big day, twenty second coverups are not unknown. Surfing outside Kaneohe Bay, Hawai‘i. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Monarch Akahi Nui Governor Linda Lingle (R) Senators Daniel Inouye (D) Daniel Akaka (D) Official language(s) Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ...

The European Surfing Championships are sometimes held in Caithness, with Thurso being the main focus of activity. This indicates the esteem in which Northern Scotland waves are held.

Main road junctions

From Scrabster Harbour (Ordnance Survey grid reference ND102704) the A9 runs generally east/southeast through Thurso and then generally south towards Inverness, Perth and Falkirk. In Thurso the A9 has junctions with two other classified roads, the A836 and the B874, and in the Georgemas area, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) south of Thurso, the A9 has a locally important junction with the A882 (ND156601), which leads towards Wick. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... The A9 north of Brora The A9 is a major road running from the Falkirk area in the south of Scotland to Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. ... Inverness (Inbhir Nis in Scottish Gaelic) is the only city in the Scottish Highlands. ... Perths location in Scotland Perth (Peairt in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in central Scotland. ... Falkirks location in Scotland Falkirk (An Eaglais Bhreac in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in Scotland, in the district of Falkirk. ... The A836 road is entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, and 129 miles (208 km) long. ... Georgemas is an area in the county of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) south of the town of Thurso and about two kilometres (one mile) east of the village of Halkirk. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... See mile - unit of measurement (distance) Miles Aircraft Ltd - UK manufacturer of light and military aircraft Miles Tails Prower - a fictional fox Miles Davis was an American jazz composer and trumpeter and was one of the most influential and innovative musicians of the 20th century. ... The A882 road is entirely within the traditional county of Caithness in Highland Scotland. ... Wick is a coastal town on the main highway linking John O Groats with southern Britain, a royal burgh and the county town of Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. ...

From the A9 near Burnside (ND107689), in Thurso, the A836 leads generally west towards Reay, Melvich, Bettyhill and Tongue. Burnside may be perceived now as a predominantly residential area of Thurso, Caithness, in Highland Scotland. ... Reay (Ordnance Survey grid reference NC964647) is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay, Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. ... Bettyhill is a village on the north coast of Scotland. ... Tongue is a village on the north coast of the Highlands of Scotland. ...

From the A9 in central Thurso (ND116683) the B874 leads generally south towards Halkirk. Halkirk is a town in Caithness, Scotland. ...

From the A9 in the Millbank area of Thurso (ND119681) the A836 leads generally east towards Castletown and John O Groats. Castletown is on the north coast of Britain, around grid reference ND196678, between John O Groats and Thurso in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. ... Location within the British Isles. ...

Town of the year

Thurso has been voted Scotland's town of the year 14 years running.

Footnotes

1. ^  Ordnance Survey grid references:

• Thurso: ND116683.
• Dounreay: NC989671.

2. ^  The Scottish Gaelic name is a translation which assumes the town is named for the river, but reading Thurso as nmeaning Thor's River is linguistically suspect. The original meaning of Thurso is now very obscure and the River Thurso may be named for the town.

3. ^  For details of the rail links with Wick and Inverness, see Far North Line

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... UKAEA Dounreay Dounreay Nuclear Power Station operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) on the North coast of Caithness in Scotland, was the worlds first electricity-producing Fast Breeder Reactor. ... Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language — the source text — and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language — called the target text, or the translation. ... Broadly conceived, linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and someone who engages in this study is called a linguist. ... The River Thurso has Loch Rumsdale in Caithness as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of Thurso and Wick with Inverness. ... Location within the British Isles Wick is an estuary town in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland, on the main highway (the A99-A9 road) linking John O Groats with southern Britain. ... Inverness (Inbhir Nis in Scottish Gaelic) is the only city in the Scottish Highlands. ... The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. ...

External links

• http://www.knowhere.co.uk/415.html - The www.knowhere.co.uk guide to Thurso. Info from locals and ex-locals.
• http://caithness.org/ - Caithness.org is a community portal with vast archives. Updated daily.
• http://www.travelscotland.co.uk/guide/Thurso - Another guide to Thurso and also local area
• http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/thurso/thurso/ - Online guide to the area. Many high-res pictures.