Golspie

Golspie
Scottish Gaelic: Goillspidh
Golspie  Golspie shown within the Sutherland area
Population	1,650 (approx.)
Council area	Highland
Lieutenancy area	Sutherland
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GOLSPIE
Postcode district	KW10
Dialling code	01408
Police	Scottish
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Scottish Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency in the Highlands and Islands electoral region
List of places UK Scotland

Coordinates: 57°58′23″N 3°58′38″W / 57.973°N 3.9771°W / 57.973; -3.9771

Golspie (Scottish Gaelic: Goillspidh) is a village in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland, which lies on the North Sea coast in the shadow of Ben Bhraggie (394m). It has a population of around 1,650.

The name derives from the Norse for "gully village.^[1]

Looking over the beaches to Golspie

Centred on Loch Fleet, three miles south of Golspie, is a national nature reserve with wading birds, wildfowl and seals. Osprey, terns and swallows frequent the loch in summer. Rare wild flowers and plants can be seen in nearby Balblair Wood.

There are four hotels, several guesthouses and bed and breakfast premises as well as self-catering cottages. Dunrobin Castle, the seat of Clan Sutherland, is nearby and has falconry displays. There is a static caravan site.

Culture

Golspie hosted the National Mòd in 1977 and 1995.^[2]

The village has a Choral Group, Rotary Club, and dancing classes. At the start of August Golspie Gala Week is held. Among the 100 events staged throughout the week are a car-banger derby, a fancy dress parade, a wheelbarrow race and a parade of massed pipe bands as a finale. Golspie Heritage Society has a permanent home in the former Fisherman's Welcome on Station Road. The IT-equipped public library, open for limited periods four days weekly, is in the Community Centre complex adjoining the High School.

Religion

The Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland have well-established congregations, but the Roman Catholic Church and Scottish Episcopal Church worship in nearby Brora.

Transport

Golspie railway station, on the Far North Line, opened in 1874. The converted station building is now a holiday let.

Buses operate about every two hours Mondays-Saturdays and infrequently on Sundays from Golspie to Dornoch, Tain and Inverness in the south and Brora, Helmsdale, Berriedale, Dunbeath, Halkirk, Thurso and Scrabster in the north. These are on route X99 and are operated by Stagecoach in the Highlands, but tickets can be bought on the Citylink website.^[3]

Sport

Golspie has award-winning safe bathing beaches^[4] to the north and south of the tidal pier and there is also a public swimming pool in the centre of the village. The Kart Race Track is a mile or two down Ferry Road. The golf course has a mix of links, parkland and heath and there are central facilities for tennis and bowling, football and playing fields. Around Golspie there are opportunities for walking, bird watching and botany study, fossil-hunting and gorges and waterfalls. There is loch and sea angling, as well as sailing and yachting in the bay. In 2006 mountain bike trails were opened on the slopes of Beinn Bhragaidh.

Notable people from Golspie

• Megan Boyd (1915 – 2001), fly-tier
• Lewis Williamson, Formula Renault driver
• Jimmy Yuill, Royal Shakespeare Company actor
• Adam Gunn (1872 – 1935), American athlete, was born in the village
• Professor Gordon MacLeod, international educator: UK, Australia, Pakistan, Africa
• Professor Donald Mackenzie, University of Edinburgh
• William Fowler (architect) (1824-1906), who designed a high proportion of the public buildings in Golspie

References

Further reading

• Golspie: Contributions to its Folklore, 1887, Annie and Bella Cumming and others.