Lairg (, meaning "the shank/shin") is a village and parish in

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

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 ...

. It has a population of 891 and is at the south-eastern end of

Loch Shin Loch Shin (, ) is a loch in the Scottish North West Highlands. To the south is the town of Lairg. The loch, the largest in Sutherland, runs from the north-west to the south-east and is long. In the 1950s, the level of the loch was raised by ov ...

. Lairg is unusual in the northern Highlands in being a large settlement that is not on the

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. One of the reasons that Lairg is slightly bigger than other non-coastal Highland villages is its central location within the county of Sutherland. Having four roads which meet in the village, it used to be known as "The Crossroads of the North". In the 19th century, it was provided with a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

(at ), on what is now 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-tra ...

. This development means that the north-west of Sutherland is now easier to reach. (The Far North Line links

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

in the south with

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) 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 Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

and

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 ...

in the north.)

Sheep sales

Lairg is the location of the largest single-day sheep sale in Europe. These auctions take place in August and bring people from all over Scotland to buy or sell their animals.

Gala Week

In July, Lairg holds a Gala Week. This is organised by a local committee in order to put on fun activities for adults and children. Events include fancy-dress parades, a pet show, fishing competitions on Loch Shin or the Little Loch Shin, and dances with live music in the community centre.

Lairg Crofters' Show

This one-day event has been running for 100 years. It attracts many spectators and participants for activities such as horse-jumping, sheep and cow judging, children's sports, Highland sports (e.g. tossing the caber, throwing the wellie/haggis) and homemade crafts. Sheep racing has even become a significant attraction in recent years.

Little Loch Shin

Little Loch Shin lies directly in the centre of the village. It is a manmade loch created by the hydroelectric dam scheme, and is the home of the "Broon's hoose", a small, wooden dwelling on an islet. Loch Shin itself lies to the north of Lairg and is long.

Facilities

Lairg has a petrol station, pub/hotel, post office, bank, caravan site, primary school, tourist information centre, and various shops, cafes and B&Bs. Tourists attractions include the Shin Falls, fishing, sightseeing and hillwalking.

Transport

Lairg railway station Lairg railway station is a railway station just south of the village of Lairg in the Highland (council area), Highland Council areas of Scotland, council area of Scotland. The station is on the Far North Line, from , between Invershin railway s ...

lies on the picturesque

, north of

Invershin Invershin () is a scattered village in the Parish of Creich, Sutherland, Creich, south of Lairg and north of Bonar Bridge in the south of Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands and is in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Highland Council area ...

and west of

Rogart Rogart ( , , meaning "great enclosed field") is a parish in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. The parish was the home of Major Andrew MacDonald, who fought in the French and Indian War. It was originally a scattered crofting parish centred on th ...

. It is managed by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), 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 as an operator of las ...

. A proposal on the rail routes to the north of

is to create a more direct rail from Inverness to

Dornoch Dornoch (; ; ) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east. ...

via a new bridge and an old branch line, which would leave Lairg isolated on a circuitous loop away from the main route. Although the link would shorten journey times to

and

, reducing the rail service to Lairg would be detrimental to the local economy. Given the huge cost of building a rail bridge over the Dornoch Firth and both the Scottish government and the Highland Regional council's lack of enthusiasm for the project, it seems unlikely the proposal will become reality. The B864 road leads south and passes through the hamlet of

Achany Achany is a hamlet in Sutherland in the Scottish council area of Highland, Scotland. It lies off the B864 road on the west bank of the River Shin south of Lairg. The hamlet, which includes the Achany Glen (or Achany Forest), is also home to a C ...

. The parallel

A836 road The A836 is a major road entirely within the Highland area of Scotland. It is long and runs from Ross and Cromarty to Caithness, with the majority of its length in Sutherland. At 58.648°N where it passes through East Mey, it is the northernm ...

also runs south to

Bonar Bridge Bonar Bridge (, ) is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland to the west and the Dornoch Firth to the east in the Parish of Creich in the Highland council area of Scotland. The Kyle of Sutherland ("the Kyle" for locals) is a ri ...

, and passes through the village of Achinduich. The areas to the north and west are sparsely populated and crossed by just three single track roads.

Impact crater

Lairg is prospectively the site of the fifteenth largest impact crater on Earth, the Lairg Gravity Low which dates from 1.2 billion years ago and is across. Evidence for a

bolide A bolide is normally taken to mean an exceptionally bright meteor, but the term is subject to more than one definition, according to context. It may refer to any large Impact crater, crater-forming body, or to one that explodes in the atmosphere. ...

impact centered on

Ullapool Ullapool (; ) is a village and port located in the civil parish of Lochbroom in the county of Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. It is located around northwest of Inverness. According to the Scottish Government in 2016, the village had a ...

was published by a combined team of scientists from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, in March 2008.

IV27 (Lairg) postcode area

IV27, with Lairg as its postal town, is the largest postcode area in the United Kingdom, at . It covers a vast area of far north west Scotland, including

Lochinver Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is a village at the head of the sea loch Loch Inver, on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, Highland, Scotland. A few miles north-east is Loch Assynt which ...

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath (, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Ky ...

and

Tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

People associated with Lairg

* Sam McDonald (1762–1802), soldier and strongman * Sir

James Matheson Sir James Nicolas Sutherland Matheson, 1st Baronet, FRS (17 November 179631 December 1878), was a Scottish opium trader and taipan. Born in Shiness, Lairg, Sutherland, Scotland, he was the son of Captain Donald Matheson. He attended Edinburgh ...

(1796–1878), entrepreneur *

Alastair Bruce of Crionaich Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Alastair Andrew Bernard Reibey Bruce of Crionaich (born 25 June 1960), is a British television journalist and former senior officer in the British Army Regular Reserve (United Kingdom), Reserves wh ...

K.stJ

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

VR (born 1960),

Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary is a current Officer of Arms, officer of arms in England. As a pursuivant extraordinary, Fitzalan is a royal officer of arms, but is not a member of the corporation of the College of Arms in London. As ...

and historical advisor to film and television productions including

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

, as well as former Governor of Edinburgh Castle (appointed July 2019). * Rev

John MacKay MacLennan John MacKay MacLennan (1885–1977) was a Scottish minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), Free Church of Scotland in 1938. Life He graduated with an MA from the University of E ...

, minister of Lairg Free church 1923 to 1965,

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

in 1938

References

External links

*
Photographs of Lairg
{{Authority control Populated places in Sutherland Parishes in Sutherland