The guidebook which got Bettyhill wrong?

When you visit somewhere regularly without living there, you develop a particular relationship with it. You know more than somebody passing through, but it still has the pleasure of being somewhere you go, and Bettyhill is one of those places I always look forward to reaching on my almost weekly travels around the North Highlands. Explaining quite why takes a little thought, although a motoring guide published in 1937 has a very definite opinion. Unless you shoot or fish, it suggests, Bettyhill and Tongue needn’t feature in your holiday plans. I’d be sorry if our guests followed that advice, because much of what I enjoy here needs neither a gun nor a fishing rod.

Bettyhill invites you to look beyond the main road, with groups of houses scattered across the slopes, open ground between them and smaller roads heading off towards places you can’t quite see. I like that invitation to be curious, to wonder what the view looks like farther up or where you might find a quieter corner. Along some stretches of the north and east coast, you can get an impression of a village simply by driving through it, but Bettyhill takes a little more getting acquainted with. Give yourself time to explore and you begin to understand why returning can be such a pleasure. The place has had a long time to develop that character.

Early nineteenth-century maps show the kirk, manse and scattered homes around Farr before the Clearances bring many more people to this coast, profoundly changing an existing community. Strathnaver Museum, housed in the former church, helps you understand the lives behind the landscape and why some families came to settle here. I think it’s excellent, particularly for the way it gives meaning to what you see outside, while the carved Farr Stone in the graveyard reminds you that this place mattered many centuries earlier. From the museum, a short walk brings you to Farr Bay, where time on the sand makes a lovely addition to a day spent travelling.

To the west, the River Naver reaches the sea beside Torrisdale Bay, with views that help explain why some of our guests stay overnight at Bettyhill Hotel. Fuel is available too, although prices can be high, so it’s worth planning your refuelling rather than relying on convenience. You can easily fill a visit, but I’d also leave room for whatever catches your attention along the way. That’s part of getting to know somewhere, and Bettyhill deserves the chance to become more than an unusual name you remember passing.

To learn more, listen to the blogcast or book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.