Golspie | Golspie in Sutherland, Scotland

Golspie is a beautiful highland village in the east-coast of Sutherland, 52 miles north of Inverness and around an hour drive from the capital of the Highlands. The area around Golspie is ideal for individuals and families that enjoy an outdoor, active lifestyle as there are many walking and cycling tracks around the village, with woodland walks, scenic waterfalls and the small, yet impressive Ben Bhraggie (Beinn a' Bhragaidh), a 397 metres (1,302 ft) high hill overlooking the village. The area has salmon and trout fishing in rivers and highland lochs that can be arranged locally with daily fishing permits.

Golspie also boasts a beautiful sandy beach, a small harbour, a golf course and a swimming pool among other recreational facilities. The village has hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation, along with café’s and carryout restaurants – eating fish and chips at the harbour car park is a happy memory on several occasions. Golspie has a swimming pool, fitness facilities and sauna.

Just outside the village is one of Scotland’s prettiest and outstanding castles and ornamental gardens at Dunrobin. Dunrobin castle is open to visitors, the castle also has a museum within the gardens. From spring through to autumn, the gardens at the castle provide an impressive display, and when the garden is open, they also have falconry displays that is very popular with visitors. Just watch out for the birds of prey flying over your head during the display.

Ben Bhraggie, that overlooks Golspie, has the iconic, sometimes hated, monument to the Duke of Sutherland that can be seen from most of the village. The Duke of Sutherland memorialised by the monument was responsible for the clearance of thousands of people from his estate in Sutherland, with many being moved to poor quality, subsistence land on the coast, or forced due to circumstance to immigrate to America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Throughout the north of Scotland are remnants of prehistoric Iron Age settlements, with brochs, crannogs, burial chambers, standing stones and other signs that people lived and thrived in the Scottish Highlands over thousands of years. The brochs are defensive structures, where people lived, hunted and farmed around 1800 to 2400 years ago, often with evidence through carbon dating of earlier inhabitants.  The nearby broch at Carn Liath, is a fine example that can be visited all year round, and is a free to visit historic area to explore for all the family. Carn Liath broch is around 2 miles north of Golspie.

Pictures of Golspie

Golspie beach near the Pier

You can find additional information on Golspie and the surrounding area on various websites - we list a few for a quick reference. Bing.com maps for online OS Map showing the area around Golspie. The nearby Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve is a must for nature lovers, with walking, cycling and bird watching opportunities around the loch - read more about Loch Fleet on Nature Scot. Read about the Highland Clearances in Sutherland - free ebook on archive.org - Donald Macloud's "Gloomy Memories" written in 1886, or on Google Books.

Golspie | Golspie Village in Sutherland, Scotland - Location Map

Buy Ordnance Survey map of Golspie and Brora area online with Amazon UK