Thurso, which is the administrative centre of the Highland Council region.

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

A River Thurso flows through the town and so into Thurso Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. A flow of any stream estuary serves as a little harbour. Thurso has a ticket harbour & beach & looks out across the Firth to the Orkney Island of Hoy and the celebrated lofty Old Man of Hoy (A stac of rock standing out from either a independent island). Two or three kilometres (1 mile) to the west of the estuary Scrabster Harbour berths a ferry ship, operated by Northlink and called "Hamnavoe", which links Thurso & a Scottish mainland sustaining Stromness on the Orkney Islands. Scrabster has deep a stream in the shelter of Holborn Head.

Vicinity agents of Highland Council come in the town, when is the independent campus of North Highland College. Thurso boasts too the little museum, the 2-screen cinema, ten-tenpins, a little skatepark & an internet cafe for cybergaming.

A town's history stretches back, at least, to the era of Norse Orcadian rule inside Caithness, which ended, once and for all, in 1266. a town was an significant Norse port, & has a later on history of trade using ports throughout northern Europe, especially when you took 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. Lot of the town is but the plotted 19th century development, & the major expansion occurred in the mid 20th century whenever an experimental nuclear power plant was established at Dounreay, about xv kilometres (nine miles) to the west of the town. Inside the period of peradventure x years Thurso's human being people so mushroomed, from either either when much as 3000 to astir 9000, as Dounreay attracted skilled immigrants from tons quarters of Scotl& and a United Kingdom.

Local government

3 wards of the Highland Council are named when Thurso wards: Thurso West, Thurso Central & Thurso East.

Sport
A football (soccer) team, Thurso FC (nicknamed "the Vikings"), plays in the North Caledonian League.

An additional eleven inside Thurso is the Pathetic Sharks. When their title indicates, it is non exactly Premier League quality.

Surfing, for the few years, was a large interest by owning numerous of the local youths. A power of a waves rolling inside from either the Northerly Atlantic has been equated by having victims of Hawaii. Sure enough, for people by having the predilection for barrelling reef-breaks, Thurso East leaves little to be desired in a good-by. In the large day, twenty 2nd coverups are non unknown.

A European Surfing Championships are sometimes held within Caithness, sustaining Thurso existence a independent focus of activity. This indicates a esteem where Northern Scotland waves come held.

Main road junctions
From either Scrabster Harbour (Ordnance Survey ), which leads towards Wick.

From either a A9 touching Burnside (), in Thurso, a A836 leads usually west towards Reay, Melvich, Bettyhill and Tongue.

From either a A9 within central Thurso () a B874 leads typically south towards Halkirk.

From either a A9 in the Millbank area of Thurso () the A836 leads usually east towards Castletown and John O Groats.

Footnotes