Forsinard ( ) is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the county of

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

area 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

A897 road The A897 single track road is entirely within the Highland council area of Scotland. It runs generally north from the A9 at Helmsdale to the A836 near Halladale Bridge, east of Melvich. The road passes through or near Kildonan, Kinbrace an ...

Strath Halladale Strath Halladale is a strath in the traditional county of Sutherland in the north of Scotland down which the Halladale River flows to enter the Atlantic Ocean at Melvich Bay. It is followed by the A897 road between Forsinard and just short of Mel ...

. It is served by a railway station on the

Far North Line The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-trac ...

. The local hotel closed several years ago, but there is now a b&b just across the level crossing. Forsinard is situated in the

Flow Country The Flow Country is a large, rolling expanse of peatland and wetland area of Caithness and Sutherland in the North of Scotland. It is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe, and covers about . It is an area of deep peat, dotted with bog ...

, an area of

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

which straddles the borders of

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 ...

and Sutherland. The Fosinard estate was purchased in 1977 by Basil Baird. The

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...

runs a nature reserve and a visitor centre at Forsinard. The

Forsinard Flows national nature reserve Forsinard Flows is a national nature reserve (NNR) covering much of the area surrounding Forsinard in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies at the heart of the Flow Country, a large, rolling expanse of peatland and wetland area of Ca ...

attracts a large range of birds and wildlife.

Rail transport

Forsinard Railway Station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Forsinard Station (14982688007).jpg , caption = Looking north towards Altnabreac , borough = Forsinard, Highland , country ...

lies on the picturesque

, located north of

Kinbrace Kinbrace is a small village in Sutherland in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies at the junction of the A897 and B871 and is from Helmsdale by road. The village has a station on the Far North Line (also named Kinbrace). Few peopl ...

and south of

Altnabreac Altnabreac ( , ) is a tiny settlement within the county of Caithness, in the north of Scotland, and now within the Highland council area. The name Altnabreac is from the Scots Gaelic ''Allt nam Breac'', meaning "the stream of the trout". It is ...

. It was opened by the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller United Kingdom, British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station, Scotland, Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Base ...

on 28 July 1874. From 1 January 1923 it was owned by the

London Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

. The station is currently managed by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise a ...

. The original two storey station building, which is located on the northbound platform, is used as the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

visitor centre.

References

External links

Forsinard Flows
on RSPB website * Populated places in Sutherland {{Highland-geo-stub