Helmsdale is a fishing village in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, about two hours by road or rail north of Inverness. The name derives from Norse Hjalmundal, the "Dale of the Helmet". The village was planned and built on a grid pattern in the early 19th century to accommodate those who were being evicted from the valleys above to make way for sheep, the infamous "Highland Clearances". There was a brief gold rush along the river in 1869.
Get in
By train
- 1 Helmsdale railway station (200 yards west of the village.). Four trains a day M-Sat run north from Inverness via Dingwall, Tain, Golspie (for Dunrobin Castle) and Brora to Helmsdale, taking 2 hrs 30 min. There's only one train on Sunday. They continue north to Thurso and Wick.
By bus
Stagecoach Highlands Bus X98 / X99 runs four times daily from Inverness via Tain, Dornoch and Brora to Helmsdale, 2 hours; two on Sunday. The buses continue north to Wick and Thurso.
Stagecoach Bus 66 runs three times a day from Lairg via Golspie and Brora to Helmsdale, 80 mins. Lairg has buses to Kinlochbervie and Durness on the west coast.
Get around
The village is walkable but you need a car to reach the distillery or Badbea.
See
- 1 The Emigrants Monument. Commemorates those who left the Highlands. It's by the A9 road bridge across the river: building this in the 1970s demolished what was left of Helmsdale castle.
- 2 Timespan Museum and Gallery, Dunrobin Street, KW8 6JA, ☏ 44 1431 821327. Mar-Oct daily 10:00-17:00, Nov-Feb Tu 12:00-16:00, Sa Su 10:00-15:00. Local history museum, covering the Clearances, and the Helmsdale gold rush of 1869. You can still pan for gold further up the valley. With café. Adult £4.
- 3 Badbea (5 miles north of Helmsdale along A9). Was a village whose inhabitants were evicted to make way for sheep. Such remains are dotted all over these hills and glens but this is one of the most accessible.
- 4 Clynelish Distillery, Brora KW9 6LR (10 miles south of Helmsdale on A9), ☏ 44 1408 623000, ✉[email protected]. Mar-Oct M-Sa 10:00-17:00, Nov-Feb M-Sa 10:00-15:00. Diageo whisky distillery, most product blended into Johnnie Walker but issues some single malt. Standard tour £12.
Do
- Helmsdale Highland Games, Couper Park. These are held on the middle Saturday of August. Parades, pipe bands, tug of war, caber-tossing, and track and field events. The 2020 event is cancelled so the next are on Sat 21 Aug 2021.
Buy
Eat
- Thyme and Plaice, 7 Dunrobin St, ☏ 44 1431 821598. Tu-Su 09:00-17:00. Friendly casual place, vegan options. No alcohol but bring your own.
- La Mirage, 7-9 Dunrobin St KW8 6JA, ☏ 44 1431 821615, ✉[email protected]. Daily 11:00-21:00. Fish are the thing here.
Drink
- Try Bannockburn Inn or Tartan Lounge, both on Stafford Street.
Sleep
- 1 Helmsdale Hostel, Stafford St Helmsdale, ☏ 44 7971 516287, ✉[email protected]. Clean friendly well-run hostel, six rooms en suite each with four beds. Open all year but Nov-March only for group bookings. From £30 ppn.
- 2 Belgrave Arms Hotel, Dunrobin St Helmsdale KW8 6JX, ☏ 44 1431 821242. Small friendly 3-star with restaurant. B&B double from £90.
- 3 Kindale House, Lilleshall St Helmsdale KW8 6JF, ☏ 44 1431 821415. Clean central friendly B&B. B&B double £85.
Connect
Go next
- North to Wick, Thurso and John o'Groats
- South to Tain and Inverness
| Routes through Helmsdale |
| Thurso/Wick ← | NE  SW | → Tain → Inverness |