An exploration of the coastline that makes up the eastern side of Thurso Bay, this walk passes the ruinous Thurso Castle and has good views across to Scrabster, Dunnet Head and Hoy.
Summary
Fairly rough but grassy coastal path; alternative return route crosses farmland and is likely to be muddy
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Thurso is the largest town in Caithness and is served by buses and trains
Open Traveline Scotland
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1. The walk begins from the Riverside car park in Thurso, set to the east of the main street. Begin the walk by crossing the footbridge over the River Thurso. Turn left along the road on the far side, at first with some houses to the right and then passing between several warehouses to emerge at the mouth of the river and its breakwaters.
2. Continue to the end of the road; just before the final bungalow fork left through a gate. A grassy path now continues along the coastline, passing beneath the ruinous Thurso Castle. The present castle was built in the 19th century and replaced a much earlier one; it is in a dangerous state of repair so keep away from the walls. Beyond the castle a section of the path has collapsed onto the stony beach but a newer path has been formed along the grassy edge; pass between the large corrugated iron barn and the sea, crossing a concrete bridge just beyond.
3. Now simply continue on the grassy coastal path. It soon reaches a stone Victorian harbour lookout, with grand views of Thurso and its bay, terminated on the far side by the cliffs of Holburn Head. The walk dog-legs right here on the clear but unimproved path above a line of very low coastal cliffs. The waves sometimes break along here with terrific force and there are some good though small coastal formations, with miniature stacks and wave-cut platforms as the walk continues along.
4. There are good views towards the cliffs of Dunnet Head and the island of Hoy beyond. Cross the stile to continue the walk; It is worth going as far as the prominent aerial to see the best of the coastline before turning back. The easiest option is to retrace your steps along the coast to Thurso, but you may have noticed a strange castellated building up in the fields to the right earlier in the walk. Returning past this involves crossing farmland along field boundaries which can be very muddy in places.
5. For this alternative return, continue back along the coastline for about a kilometre to where a fence and a ditch head uphill at right angles to the coastline. There is no stile here but with care it is possible to step over the coastal fence to head inland on the grassy bank between the fence and the ditch. When there is a gate in the fence, go through it and then follow the edge of the ploughed field diagonally (to the south) and then along the fence until reaching a gate. Go through this to cross to the other side of the fence and then continue along the rough grassy strip; this leads to a track along the bottom of the field containing the strange monument. Known as Harold's Tower, it looks like a bulging pebble-dashed miniature castle, but is actually a mausoleum of Clan Sinclair.
6. Return to the track along the bottom of the field and keep following it to eventually reach a tarmac road. Continue ahead along this; it eventually joins the A836 next to an ornate gate house. Go straight on along the pavement, passing a school; about three hundred metres past this turn right down a road that gives access to the footbridge over the River Thurso crossed earlier. Head back across this to return to the Riverside car park.
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