Far North Line: Scenic and Historic Guide

Lairg station is not in the village which is two and a half miles away. 

There are other longer distance connections from here to the remote north-west coast of Scotland as Lairg is the railhead for the entire north west region.

Departing Lairg the train makes its way through the heather covered hills and sheep farms which are typical of this part of Sutherland. 

The line is also turning to face east again, making its way back towards the sea. At this stage the line is also running alongside the River Fleet in the narrow valley of Strath Fleet. 

There is little in the way of human habitation except for the occasional house as the line passes alongside Ben Doula.

Rogart (request) station building is now a house and the garden has become something of an outdoor railway museum with a collection of old trains and other railway items. 

The old signal box has been restored and there are a number of old railway carriages which used to run this railway. They have now been converted into camping coaches for those wishing to holiday here. 

Rogart itself is a hill farm village and you can still see the cattle pens which were formerly used for loading sheep onto trains alongside the line.

The line continues down Strath Fleet and meets Loch Fleet at the mound. 

The remains of the platforms which once formed the junction station for the line to Dornoch may still be seen from the train as you rush through to meet the North Sea again. 

On the left of the train is the hill of Ben Bhraggie. The summit is 415 metres above sea level. 

The statue on top is to the 1st Duke of Sutherland who was notorious during the Highland Clearances.

Golspie Station building is now a house and the former goods yard has given way to more houses. Golspie is a pleasant village on the shores of the North Sea.

During the summer the train makes a special stop on request at Dunrobin Castle station. This is the only remaining private railway station in Britain and was opened in 1874. 

The building is not a normal station, but rather was the private waiting room for the Duke of Sutherland. The attractive wood framed building is now a small museum and is set in fields and mature trees. 

The Duke of Sutherland paid for much of the construction of the Sutherland Railway which is still in use today as the Far North Line. As such in addition to having his own station he was one of the few people in Britain to have his own private train. 

The locomotive built in 1895 was named ‘Dunrobin’ and worked with a private parlour carriage. Both have survived and are located at Beamish Museum in Durham, England. 

You can see the castle itself from the station. This fairytale castle is the largest private residence in the north of Scotland and is set in its own woodland overlooking the sea. 

Home to the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland since 1401, the Castle was firstly a heavily protected tower. It was encased by a series of additions from the 16th century, but the original castle still survives surrounded by its newer and more impressive additions. 

It was the 1845 rebuild however which gave the Castle its present day appearance. Largely the result of Sir Charles Barry, who worked on the Houses of Parliament, he created a Scots Baronial style building in keeping with the most popular styles of the time.  

Departing Dunrobin Castle Station the train follows the shoreline. Look out for seals that often lie on the beach here. 

The next stop is at Brora where the train crosses the River Brora flowing down from Loch Brora in the hills behind the village. Brora station is an attractive single storey stone building with decorative wooden canopy over the platform. 

Look out for the decorative tiles on the roof and the ‘HR’ carved into the stonework. HR stands for Highland Railway, the station’s builder and original owner. Unfortunately it is now disused and boarded up.   

Brora lies on the east coast of Sutherland, in prime golfing country. Brora has two claims to Scottish uniqueness. 

It once possessed the only bridge in the region – which gave it its name, meaning River of the Bridge – and until the 1960s, had the only coal mine in the Highlands. 

For such a small town in a remote area it is was surprisingly industrialised with a coal pit, boat building, fishing, salt mining, fish curing, lemonade factory, distillery, wool mill, brick making and a stone quarry. 

Brick tends to be a building material more commonly found in England and the existence of the factory explains the brick houses in Brora. 

A woollen mill survived until recently while the stone from the quarry found its way into buildings as diverse as Liverpool Cathedral, London Bridge and the local Dunrobin Castle.

The train journey continues its coastal path alongside the North Sea. The line at many sections is only a few metres from the shore which seems to be pounded by waves even on calm days. 

On the left of the train are a series of hills including the 415 metre Creag Riasgain, all of which rise steeply from the shoreline. 

The train curves sharply around the base of Eldrable Hill (416 metres). On the right is the village harbour.  

Helmsdale station’s large white building has been restored and is now self-catering accommodation and the signal box is still on site and is use by Network Rail for communications equipment. 

Once this was a very busy station and even had its own engine shed which survived into the days of diesel locomotives.  

On leaving Helmsdale the train parts from the coast and heads inland to the west. 

The route follows the Strath Ullie or Strath of Kildonan valley with the river flowing below the train on the right and hills on either side of the line. 

Kildonan Station request stop was the scene of a gold rush in 1868 when people flocked to this village to look for gold in the river Kildonan and Suisgill.  Some people still try, although there is very little to be found.  

As the train leaves Kildonan, passengers should look out west for views of the hills Ben Grian (579 metres), Ben Loyal (762 metres) and Ben Hope (926 metres). 

The line is now entering one of the remotest areas of Britain. Stations are usually request stops only and are sometimes surrounded by only a handful of buildings.

The line continues through the Strath until the base of Creag nan Caorach where it turns to the north and makes a request stop at Kinbrace Station. 

Set in unspoilt countryside the quietness is especially striking when having just come from a town or village. Look out for rare hen harriers and deer over this section of line. 

Beyond Kinbrace the line runs alongside Loch an Ruathair with 580 metre Ben Griam Mountain behind. Turning to the right the line enters Forsinard Station.

The small station at Forsinard has two platforms, not for the level of traffic ever sustained here but to allow trains to cross at this point. 

The original station still exists and today is the welcome point for the Forsinard Flows RSPB Reserve (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). 

This area is known as the ‘flow country’. It is a unique habitat of wetlands which is home to an array of birds both year round and migrating. 

In recent times the area was nearly destroyed by forestry plantations. While most of Scotland was at one time forested this is the one landscape that was naturally a moorland. 

The commercial tree plantations nearly drained this wetland and left it scarred for years to come. However, the RSBP is working to restore it.

The train crosses the flow country where the remains of line side wooden fences may still be seen. 

These were designed to keep the worst of the drifting snow off the line in winter and were used in the past when keeping the line open in all weathers was given a higher priority. 

For some time trains in severe weather were equipped with food survival boxes in case they became trapped here.

Altnabreac Station request stop is one of the remotest stations in Britain. At this point the Highland scenery gives way to the flat expanses of Caithness. 

This wide open space is surrounded by hills in the distance. Fields begin to appear as we re-enter agricultural land. 

The fields in this part of the country are unusual in that they are divided by flag stone fences rather than dry stone walls. 

The train briefly calls at Scotscalder station. This request stop station has been restored to 1950s British Railways style as part of its conversion to a holiday home. 

The next stop is Georgemas Junction. The most northerly junction in Britain still has a station, although now unstaffed. 

The railway splits here continuing to Wick with a short branch line to Thurso. Various strategies have been tried over the years to serve Thurso. 

At one point trains were split at Georgemas with one section going to Thurso and the other Wick. Today the train makes its way to Thurso before returning for a second time to Georgemas for the journey to Wick. 

The detour doesn’t add significantly to the journey. The short to run to Thurso is alongside the River Thurso. Thurso is Britain’s most northerly town on the mainland with a population of around 7000. 

Thurso railway station is the original Highland Railway building built from attractive stone and with a large slate roof covering the tracks. Trains come indoors into the station to protect passengers from the harsh Caithness weather. 

The waiting room is decorated with various unusual items, including a painting of a Union Pacific (USA) ‘Big Boy’ steam locomotive.

Now the train repeats the short journey through Caithness back to Georgemas Junction and on to Wick. 

Arrival is into the town’s original stone built station which retains its character. The station is very similar to the attractive structure at Thurso.