Golspie and Brora – Castle, Waterfall and Beach
A day by car, from Dornoch and back.
The route
Golspie and Brora sit six miles apart on the east coast of Sutherland, two villages on the A9 with the hills behind them and the sea in front.
Between them are a waterfall in the woods, Dunrobin Castle and its gardens, Brora's museum and its beach, all a few minutes from the main road. It makes an easy day out, about half an hour from Dornoch. The drives between the stops are short, so the hours go on the places and not the road, and you are back in Dornoch in time for dinner.
Before you go
Dunrobin Castle sells its tickets at the castle, with no time to book, and it is open daily from 1 April to 31 October only, with last entry at 4.30pm (4pm in October).
The day
Sutherland
A day up the Sutherland coast from Dornoch, with a turreted castle at the centre of it. The morning belongs to Golspie, first among the trees and then in the gardens above the sea. The afternoon moves on to Brora, for lunch and an hour or two between the village and the shore.
1 hr 28 min at the wheelAbout 37 miles
Golspie Burn Waterfall & Gorge
An attraction
Leave Dornoch by a quarter past nine. It's 26 minutes' drive up the A9, over the Mound and through Golspie. Just beyond the village Nursery Road goes off to the left, and the car park is half a mile up it, on the left. The waterfall is about five minutes down a steep path that is slippery after rain: white water dropping into a dark, mossy gorge. Go no further than the waterfall. Parts of the glen path have been shut after storms: if a path is closed off, turn back.
6 min by car
Dunrobin Castle
An attraction
It's 6 minutes' drive, back down to the A9 and left, and the gate is on the right. Dunrobin's turrets stand above formal gardens that run down towards the sea, and one ticket covers castle, museum and gardens. It is open from April to October. Last entry is an hour before closing: check the day's hours on its page. Leave by one for lunch. From November to March, when the castle is shut, the day is the waterfall, then Brora's beach and harbour, lunch in Brora, and the Heritage Centre if it is open.
17 min by car
Brora Heritage Centre
Brora is 17 minutes' drive north from the castle, and lunch comes first. The Curing Yard at the Royal Marine Hotel is on Golf Road, right after the river bridge, and serves lunch daily, noon to 3pm. Clyne Kitchen, the Heritage Centre's café, is the second choice: Wednesday to Sunday, food until 3.30pm, 2.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. On Mondays and Tuesdays the café and the centre are shut, so bring a picnic in case the hotel is full. The centre is 4 minutes on and tells Brora's story. With under two and a half hours of daylight left after lunch, go straight to the shore.
5 min by car
Brora beach and harbour
It's 5 minutes' drive back through the village and down Harbour Road to the beach car park beyond the harbour. The Back Shore runs south from here, sand and rock pools and sometimes seals, and the harbour at the river mouth is five minutes' walk back; keep clear of its edge, where it is deep. On the beach, stay out of the river mouth and watch the tide around the rocks. The long golden Front Beach lies across the river. Dornoch is 34 minutes' drive south: turn for home while it is still light.
If it rains
Most of this day can be kept under a roof. From April to October the rooms of Dunrobin Castle and its museum fill a wet morning, lunch is indoors, and from Wednesday to Sunday Brora Heritage Centre takes care of the afternoon. Leave the Big Burn out in heavy rain, when the steep path to the waterfall is slippery. Keep the shore to a short walk to the harbour.
Worth a detour
- Carn Liath broch
Carn Liath is a broch, an Iron Age stone tower, beside the A9 between Dunrobin and Brora, with a signed car park. The path to it crosses the main road: follow the signs, cross only where signed, and leave it out with children or in poor light.
- Golspie's beach and pier
Golspie has a sandy beach of its own and a small harbour with a pier, just off the A9 as it runs through the village. Shore Street car park is 15 minutes' drive back from Brora's shore and Dornoch is 20 minutes on, so stopping adds about a minute to the road home. Walk out along the pier, keeping children well back from the edge, and look back at the village and the hills behind it. The statue on the summit of Ben Bhraggie, above the village, is of the first Duke of Sutherland and is known locally as the Mannie. The Coffee Bothy on Fountain Road is the place for a coffee; check its hours before you go.
Photographs by Simon Atkinson and Dave Bower via Google