Scots Calder is an area within

Halkirk Halkirk ( gd, Hàcraig) is a village on the River Thurso in Caithness, in the Highland council area of Scotland. From Halkirk the B874 road runs towards Thurso in the north and towards Georgemas in the east. The village is within the parish of H ...

, Northern Scotland. It is served by

Scotscalder railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Scotscalder.jpg , caption = The platform at Scotscalder, looking southwest , borough = Scotscalder, Highland , country = Sc ...

which is operated 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 B870 runs directly through the centre with Achagie and

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 ...

to the north and

Olgrinmore Olgrinmore is a small area in Halkirk, Northern Scotland, south of Thurso and John o' Groats. The B870 runs directly through the centre with Scotscalder to the north and Westerdale to the south. The nearest transport link can be found at Scots ...

and

Westerdale Westerdale is a village, civil parish and dale within the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. The Esk Valley Walk runs through part of the village. The village is at the confluence of three streams (Esklets) which combine as th ...

to the south. It is operated under the Highland Authority. A small car park, with 2 spaces, can be found at

that is open, free, 24 hours a day. There are no bus services operating from Scotscalder however a short walk or train journey can take you to local travel services.

Historic discoveries

There are several historic archaeological discoveries in the area surrounding Scotscalder ranging from the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

to the Celts suggesting that there have been settlements here for millennia. Artefacts that are believed to date from the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

have been found within the Scotscalder area.

Railway station

is a

request stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...

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 ...

and has trains running in both directions towards Wick in the North and Inverness further South. You can change at

Wick railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = 158701 Wick.jpg , caption = 158701 standing at Wick , borough = Wick, Highland , country = Scotland , coordinates ...

for services to

Thurso railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = 158701 Thurso.jpg , caption = 158701 departing Thurso bound for , borough = Thurso, Highland , country = Scotland , coor ...

. Passenger numbers have decreased annually to a record low for 2018. This makes it one of the least used stations in the whole of the UK and the least used on the

Local area

The local area surrounding and within Scotscalder is relatively small. There a few small settlements and farms in the area and the

River Thurso The River Thurso ( gd, Abhainn Theòrsa) has Loch Rumsdale in Caithness as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of T ...

runs nearby. The road that runs through Scotscalder is only wide enough to fit one car but has several passing places. 3 miles north of Scotscalder, via the B870 you can find

Loch Calder Loch Calder is a lowland freshwater loch lying approximately south west of Thurso in the Scottish Highlands. The loch is large with an irregular shape and has perimeter of . It is approximately long, has an average depth of and is at its deepe ...

and 8 miles north of Scotscalder will take you into Thurso. Within Scotscalder itself there isn't much. The nearest Post Office and other amenities can be found in

, five miles up the road. Walking from one place to another isn't advised due to lack of footpaths and long distances between villages sometimes.

Local history

Scotscalder's local area as it is known today was shaped by the

opening in 1874. The station is still standing and is the centrepiece of the area. Further settlements were constructed as the railway allowed businesses to make the most of the generally flat land that was available. It also allowed easy travel to

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

and

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 ...

. The construction of the road, which possibly previously existed as a farm track or pack-horse route also allowed easy access to the nearby

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

where products could be sold locally.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Populated places in Caithness