Lairg ( gd, An Luirg, meaning "the shank/shin") is a village and parish in

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 ...

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 has a population of 891 and is at the south-eastern end of Loch Shin. Lairg is unusual in the northern Highlands in being a large settlement that is not on the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

. One of the reasons that Lairg is slightly bigger than other non-coastal Highland villages is its central location within the county of Sutherland. Having four roads which meet in the village, it used to be known as "The Crossroads of the North". In the 19th century, it was provided with a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

(at ), on what is now the Far North Line. This development means that the north-west of Sutherland is now easier to reach. (The Far North Line links

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

in the south with

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 Great ...

and Wick in the north.)

Sheep sales

Lairg is the location of the largest single-day sheep sale in Europe. These auctions take place in August and bring people from all over Scotland to buy or sell their animals.

Gala Week

In July, Lairg holds a Gala Week. This is organised by a local committee in order to put on fun activities for adults and children. Events include fancy-dress parades, a pet show, fishing competitions on Loch Shin or the Little Loch Shin, and dances with live music in the community centre.

Lairg Crofters' Show

This one-day event has been running for 100 years. It attracts many spectators and participants for activities such as horse-jumping, sheep and cow judging, children's sports, Highland sports (e.g. tossing the caber, throwing the wellie/haggis) and homemade crafts. Sheep racing has even become a significant attraction in recent years.

Little Loch Shin

Little Loch Shin lies directly in the centre of the village. It is a manmade loch created by the hydroelectric dam scheme, and is the home of the "Broon's hoose", a small, wooden dwelling on an islet. Loch Shin itself lies to the north of Lairg and is long.

Facilities

Lairg has a petrol station, pub/hotel, post office, bank, caravan site, primary school, tourist information centre, and various shops, cafes and B&Bs. Tourists attractions include the Shin Falls, fishing, sightseeing and hillwalking.

Transport

Lairg railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Lairg Station.JPG , caption = The view northward in 2009 , borough = Lairg, Highland , country = Scotland , coordinates ...

lies on the picturesque Far North Line, north of

Invershin Invershin ( gd, Inbhir Sin) is a scattered village in the Parish of Creich, south of Lairg and north of Bonar Bridge in the south of Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. Invershin is located cl ...

and west of Rogart. It is 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 ...

. A proposal on the rail routes to the north of

is to create a more direct rail from Inverness to

Dornoch Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray ...

via a new bridge and an old branch line, which would leave Lairg isolated on a circuitous loop away from the main route. Although the link would shorten journey times to

and Wick, reducing the rail service to Lairg would be detrimental to the local economy. Given the huge cost of building a rail bridge over the Dornoch Firth and both the Scottish government and the Highland Regional council's lack of enthusiasm for the project, it seems unlikely the proposal will become reality. The B864 road leads south and passes through the hamlet of

Achany Achany is a hamlet in Sutherland in the Scottish council area of Highland, Scotland. It lies off the B864 road on the west bank of the River Shin south of Lairg. The hamlet, which includes the Achany Glen (or Achany Forest), is also home to a ...

. The parallel A836 road also runs south to Bonar Bridge, and passes through the village of

Achinduich Achinduich ( Gaelic: Achadh an Dabhaich) is a hamlet on the east bank of the River Shin in the Scottish Highlands about 4 miles south of Lairg, Sutherland. It is in the Highland Council area Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hiela ...

. The areas to the north and west are sparsely populated and crossed by just three single track roads.

Impact crater

Lairg is prospectively the site of the fifteenth largest impact crater on Earth, the

Lairg Gravity Low The Lairg gravity low is a possible impact crater in Scotland about 40 kilometres in diameter, with a centre near the town of Lairg in the Scottish Highlands. Its identity as an impact crater is suspected due to the impact deposits present in the ...

which dates from 1.2 billion years ago and is across. Evidence for a bolide impact centered on Ullapool was published by a combined team of scientists from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, in March 2008.

IV27 (Lairg) postcode area

IV27, with Lairg as its postal town, is the largest postcode area in the United Kingdom, at 1,393 square miles. It covers a vast area of far north west Scotland, including

Lochinver Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is a village that is located at the head of the sea loch Loch Inver, on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, Highland, Scotland. A few miles northeast is Loc ...

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...

and

Tongue The tongue is a muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surfa ...

People associated with Lairg

Sam McDonald Sam McDonald (1762 – 6 May 1802), called "Big Sam", was a Scotsman of unusual height for his day who had a distinguished military career and was a noted "strongman". Most sources state his height as , with a burly build, although one 1822 source ...

(1762–1802), soldier and strongman * Sir

James Matheson Sir James Nicolas Sutherland Matheson, 1st Baronet, FRS (17 November 179631 December 1878), was a Scottish Tai-Pan. Born in Shiness, Lairg, Sutherland, Scotland, he was the son of Captain Donald Matheson. He attended Edinburgh's Royal High Sch ...

(1796–1878), entrepreneur *

Alastair Bruce of Crionaich Major-General Alastair Andrew Bernard Reibey Bruce (born 25 June 1960) is a journalist and television correspondent, and a senior British Army reservist and officer of arms of the Royal Household. He commanded the TA Media Operations Group ...

K.stJ

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

VR (born 1960),

Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary is a current officer of arms in England. As a pursuivant extraordinary, Fitzalan is a royal officer of arms, but is not a member of the corporation of the College of Arms in London. As with many other e ...

and historical advisor to film and television productions including Downton Abbey, as well as the current Governor of Edinburgh Castle (appointed July 2019). * Rev

John MacKay MacLennan John MacKay MacLennan (1885–1977) was a Scottish minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1938. Life He graduated with an MA from Edinburgh University in 1915. From 1915 to 1923 he was m ...

, minister of Lairg Free church 1923 to 1965,

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

in 1938

References

External links

*
Photographs of Lairg
{{Authority control Populated places in Sutherland