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The River Bothy's red sandstone cottage at Berriedale, with picnic tables on the gravel and a Welcome board by the door.
Sutherland

The River Bothy

A tea room, deli and gift shop in a stone cottage on the Berriedale River, just off the A9 on the Caithness coast.

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Welcome

Pull off the A9 at Berriedale and there is a stone cottage full of cake.

The River Bothy sits on the north bank of the Berriedale River, just off the road on the Caithness coast, and it has been looking after people on their way north since 2016. Breakfast runs until quarter to twelve, with porridge, buttermilk pancakes and a big plate built round Latheronwheel sausages, haggis and Stornoway black pudding. Lunch brings soup made fresh every day, toasties on sourdough, loaded baked potatoes and, when there is some, local white crab. The cakes and bakes are made in the kitchen daily, so have a look at the counter before you order. The shelves hold local jams, chutneys and pickles, Caithness chocolate and wildflower honey to take home, along with a selection of gifts, and hampers can be made up at any time of year. Dogs are welcome, and it's open Monday to Saturday from ten until four.

A short drive awayBadbea Clearance VillageThe ruins of a village on the cliff edge south of Berriedale, where families cleared from the straths built new homes in the wind.4 min by roadSee itThe tumbled stone walls of Badbea among bracken on the clifftop, the sea far below.
Before you go

Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

Breakfast is served until 11.45am and lunch from 11.45am to 2.30pm, with cakes and bakes on the counter all day. Dogs are welcome.

Where
Just off the A9 at Berriedale, KW7 6HE.
Hours
Mon to Sat, 10am to 4pm.
Breakfast
Until 11.45am.
Lunch
11.45am to 2.30pm.
Telephone
01593 751569.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–4pm
Tuesday
10am–4pm
Wednesday
10am–4pm
Thursday
10am–4pm
Friday
10am–4pm
Saturday
10am–4pm
Sunday
Closed
Where it is

Ivy Cottage, Berriedale, Caithness, KW7 6HE, on the north bank of the Berriedale River just off the A9.

Close byAlong the Caithness coast.
  1. Ousdale Broch's thick drystone walls and low doorway among bracken on a green hillside.Ousdale BrochAn Iron Age broch on the moor above the Caithness coast, one of the best preserved in the county.5 miles6 min by road
  2. Aerial view of a lighthouse on cliffs above a rocky coastline, low cloud drifting over farmlandDunbeath BayThe bay and old herring harbour of Dunbeath, with a pebble shore and the white castle on its cliff.7 miles10 min by road
  3. Latheronwheel HarbourLatheronwheel HarbourA little stone harbour of about 1840 in a cleft of the Caithness cliffs, with sea stacks and a shingle beach.10 miles13 min by road
  4. Stone wall and gorse-lined burn crossing open farmland with distant wind turbinesLybsterA planned fishing village of 1802 with an extraordinarily wide main street and a working harbour.14 miles16 min by road
  5. Small pale standing stones scattered in rows through the heather on the Hill o' Many Stanes.Hill o' Many StanesAbout two hundred small standing stones set in rows down a low hillside near Lybster, some 4,000 years old.18 miles21 min by road
Directions
The tumbled stone walls of Badbea among bracken on the clifftop, the sea far below.AttractionsBadbea Clearance Village2.7 miles
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