Bettyhill ( gd, Am Blàran Odhar) is a village in the parish of
Farr, on the north coast of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
Bettyhill lies on the
A836 road west of
Thurso
Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Gre ...
and from
Tongue
The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...
. It lies from the village of
Skerray
Skerray ( gd, Sgeirea) is a remote small crofting hamlet and fishing port on the north coast of Sutherland, Scotland. It is located by road northeast of Tongue and by road west of Thurso. Skerray is home to a community of artists and a group ...
; its former fishing port was called Navermouth.
Bettyhill's principal attractions are the expanse of Torrisdale Bay, the Strathnaver Museum and
salmon fishing
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhync ...
on the
River Naver
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
. The Strathnaver Museum, probably better known as "The Mackay Museum", has an upstairs, older & larger section devoted to the ancient
Clan Mackay
Clan Mackay ( ; gd, Clann Mhic Aoidh ) is an ancient and once-powerful Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan from the far North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Mormaer of Moray, Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert I ...
. The whole of the north-western highlands (Assynt to Cape Wrath, Loch Shin to Strath Halladale and Reay) was known as "Mackay Country" from the 13th century.
Adjoining Farr High School is the North Coast Leisure Centre which comprises a leisure pool, gym, spa and sauna and is open for public use. The craft shop serves
fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created t ...
on a Friday and Saturday night, as well as having a cafe ('The Cafe at Bettyhill') which is currently open seven days a week during summer months. There are several lovely empty beaches nearby. The Bettyhill Hotel contains the Eilean Neave restaurant. The Farr Bay Inn, built in 1819, was formerly the manse and is now a listed building.
It has recently come under new management and was refurbished in 2009.
Bettyhill holds an annual football competition called the Guy Cup. Teams from nearby northern areas come to compete for the trophy. This annual gathering is held in remembrance of Philip Mackay (nicknamed "Guy") who died in an oil rig accident. The medals and trophy are usually held by Guy's mother Phyllis Mackay.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Populated places in Sutherland
Bettyhill
Bettyhill ( gd, Am Blàran Odhar) is a village in the parish of Farr, on the north coast of Scotland.
Bettyhill lies on the A836 road west of Thurso and from Tongue. It lies from the village of Skerray; its former fishing port was called ...