Brora

The Electric City

Just north of Golspie, Brora is a very popular golfing and fishing village with hotels, apartments, guesthouses, and self-catering accommodation.

In truth, Brora has the amenities of a small town, sitting on miles of golden beaches with beautiful and interesting walks emanating from north and south of the famous Brora Salmon River with bird and sea life such as otters and seals. There are also three local Hill Forts from around the 8th century BC, plus Broch’s to explore.

Past history gives the impression of an industrial town, yet Brora retains a charm more in keeping with a country village despite having had from 1529: a coal mine which began as open cast, then in the 1800s a shaft was lowered 300 feet to the coal seam below the Clynelish sandstone, worked until 1968; a brick works from 1818 until 1972; also in the year of 1818 the Clynelish distillery was opened and remains an important part of the economy of the area.

In the 1820s the harbour was the centre for the local import/export trade and the starting point for immigration to New Zealand, followed by the introduction of a thriving herring fleet. Sadly all these industries declined, and in its place you now find a small picturesque harbour with some inshore fishing and pleasure craft.

In the 1870’s the Duke of Sutherland opened up the railway giving another link to the outside world.

Why Electric City? In 1913 the Brora Electric Supply was set up powering shops, streets and houses, the first north of Inverness at the time, thus Brora became known as Electric City, an enterprise that ran for 25 years. In 1939 a radio station was opened, then in 1949 taken over by the Ministry of Defence, and run as a communication/listening centre until 1986, playing its own part in the Cold War that threatened civilisation. This community was also home to boat building, fish curing, a lemonade factory and the famous woollen mill, Hunter’s of Brora, and was host to a stone quarry, the latter all that is left of a thriving entrepreneurial spirit vital to the lives of its busy inhabitants and surrounding communities before a change of economies saw tourism as an ideal replacement to the industries of the past.

As you leave behind the history and culture of Brora, the A9 hugs the splendour of the North Sea taking you to the village of Helmsdale where you have yet another choice of routes, north across the moors and peatlands to Melvich on the coastline, or stick with the sea and drive into Caithness and all the delights that await the traveller.