Achairn Burn, known also as Haster Burn, is one of the major

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of Wick River, in

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

, in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

area of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

is in headwaters flowing from the northern slope of the Hill of Toftgunn, which rises to over 170 metres, and in Camster Loch, which is at nearly 120 metres, between the Hill of Toftgunn and Ballharn Hill. The same area feeds also another major tributary of Wick River, the Camster/Rowans- Strath Burn. Achairn Burn enters Wick River at

Mary Ford Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers; July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) was an American guitarist and vocalist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hi ...

, about 10 kilometres to the northeast of the burn's source. Its entire course is within Caithness, as is the whole of the

catchment basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

of Wick River. Between its source and Maryford the burn's course describes a sort of reversed S-shape, flowing generally north, then turning east and east/southeast before turning north again. On its banks the burn has Upper Achairn, Lower Achairn, Puldagon, and

Haster Haster is a small remote rural hamlet and district in Wick, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is located just west of the Bridge of Haster, which carries the A882 road linking the burghs of Wick and Thurso over the Achairn Burn to the main A9 ...

. Between Upper Achairn and Lower Achairn the burn receives water from Allt Beag-airighe (Burn of the Small Shieling). In the Puldagon area it is bridged by a small, single-track

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

linking the

A882 road The A882 road is entirely within Caithness in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. It has a length of about and runs generally west/northwest from the A99 road (Great Britain), A99 in the county town of Wick, Caithness, Wick ...

, near the Bridge of Haster, with the

A99 road The A99 road is entirely within the former county of Caithness in the Highland of Scotland. It runs generally north/northeast from the A9 at Latheron to Wick and to the A836 at John o' Groats. It was part of the A9 until the A9 classification ...

in the Thrumster area. The Bridge of Haster carries the A882 itself, about 3 kilometres west of

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 about one kilometre south of Maryford.

Grid references

Grid reference A projected coordinate systemalso called a projected coordinate reference system, planar coordinate system, or grid reference systemis a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on Earth using Cartesian coordinate system, Car ...

s are generally in order from source to Maryford: * Hill of Toftgunn: * Ballharn Hill: * Camster Loch: * Upper Achairn: * Allt Beag-airighe: * Lower Achairn: * Puldagon: *

: * Bridge of Haster: *

: Rivers of Highland (council area) {{Scotland-river-stub