Brough is a small village (population 66) in
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...
in the North of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
It is located on the
B855 single-track road, the most northerly numbered road on the mainland of Great Britain, and is a few miles to the south east of
Dunnet Head
Dunnet Head ( gd, Ceann Dùnaid) is a peninsula in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.
Geography
The point, also known as Easter ...
, the most northerly point on the British mainland, and a mile or so north of the village of
Dunnet
Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet.
Village
The village centres on the A836 road, A836–B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats ...
.
Brough is the site of
Brough Castle
Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria, England. The castle was built by William Rufus around 1092 within the old Roman fort of ''Verterae'' to protect a key route through the Pennine Mountains. The initial motte ...
, a twelfth Century Norse fortress; the ruins are on the property now known as Heathcliff. Brough is the most northerly village on the British mainland.
The village has a bus stop. Brough harbour, a short distance to the north of the village, now little used, faces
Little Clett
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Little (album), ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
*Little (film), ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's nov ...
rock, a small islet that shelters the harbour from the north. The slipway was originally built to assist the construction and maintenance of
Dunnet Head lighthouse (1831).
To the south of the village lies
St John's Loch, reputedly a very good brown trout loch.
Name
The name Brough is pronounced to rhyme with the Scottish word ''loch'', in contrast to the English town of
Brough, which is pronounced to rhyme with ''rough''
The village's name comes from
Broch
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy.
Origin ...
, the ancient Scottish circular building, whose purpose is somewhat undetermined but was probably some kind of fortified homestead. The remains of at least one broch exist in the area around the village.
Wildlife
The village, and the area, are popular particularly with birdspotters, providing opportunities to see many
puffin
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
s (at Brough Harbour) and Great Northern Divers among others.
References
Populated places in Caithness
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