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Monday 10am - 5pm Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm

Strathnaver Museum

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Strathnaver Museum

Come and discover the vibrant culture and heritage of north Sutherland. What3Words: ///importers.creamed.sitting

Strathnaver Museum is the Museum of the Clearances and tells this fascinating and at times brutal story within the wider perspective of our cultural and social history. The Museum holds a diverse range of objects depicting life in the north Highlands from prehistoric to more modern times. Within the Museum you can discover the Bronze Age burial beaker unearthed by a Highland Council roadcrew in 19

81 and marvel at the tools our ancestors used to work their land in order to feed their families. Just outside the Museum you can also see the impressive and elaborately designed Pictish Farr Stone dated from around 800 to 850AD. On the second floor of the Museum you will find the Clan Mackay Room which is full of fascinating artefacts including a very special chanter. The Museum is housed within the former Parish Church of St Columba at Clachan in Bettyhill which is notable in its own right and is listed by Historic Scotland for its regional architectural importance. The museum also holds an interesting and varied archive of books, manuscripts and recorded oral histories which is valuable for genealogical and academic researchers. We also regularly stage special events and exhibitions to keep up to date why not sign up to our newsletter or keep an eye out for our event listings.

04/09/2026

We're taking part in the Doors Open Days festival again this year! 🎊 Doors Open Days Caithness and Sutherland
Join us on Saturday 19th September between 10am-5pm, there's plenty to get involved with...
• There will be live demos of traditional crafts from weaving and spinning to boat building. 🛠️
• Explore the Mackay Country Archive and the seminal publication At Home in Mackay Country published in 2005.
• Our current exhibition - Salt to Plate - is still on. This explores the heritage and conservation of salmon fisheries along the north coast of Scotland and beyond with local wildlife artist and documentary filmmaker Debasis Biswas. 🎣
• Find out more about our Caithness and Sutherland Culture Collective Artist in Residence programme - they will be working with the community to create a piece of work exploring living heritage traditions in our communities over 15 months.
• We'll have a kids activity too, so the whole family can enjoy a visit together. 👪

02/09/2026

Did you see our Museum Manager in the paper recently? 📰

The John O'Groat Journal shared an article - Family history talk on 21-year career of ‘auld Caithness soldier’ - promoting the online talk Fiona's doing with Caithness Family History Society soon. 📜👪💻

In the aftermath of the Highland Clearances and at the height of British colonial power we follow the story of Caithness soldier John Sutherland. John was born in Latheron in 1829 to farmer George Sutherland and his wife Margaret Mackay. At the age of 18 John enlisted with the Royal Artillery in Wick and began a 21-year military career which took him to various corners of the British Empire. 🗺️

Join her on Zoom on Tuesday 8th September at 7pm (UK time) to hear all about John Sutherland by emailing [email protected] for the link by Friday 4 September. 📧 This is free-to-attend and is open to members and non-members of Caithness Family History Society.

31/08/2026

We have a new product available in our shop! 📣📖

'Durness in Mackay Country' has been produced by Ronnie Lansley. Ronnie is our Tradition Bearer in Residence as part of the At Home in Mackay Country Project. The book gathers together stories and histories from over 20 years of heritage projects that Ronnie has been involved with. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏛️

It is a limited run and is priced at £18. Pop in to pick up your copy and browse our other items whilst you're in. 🛍️

30/08/2026

Not many museums can say they are less than a mile away from a beach and not many have such a beautiful and sheltered one as us with Farr Bay. 🐚🌊🦭 We really are lucky. 😊

Scenic, quiet and with strong roaring waves, it's a perfect stop to refresh for any traveller exploring Sutherland and beyond. Beaches are the ultimate place to relax and reconnect with nature, but it's so important to do so respectfully and leave no trace. 🚯

That means:
- Planning ahead and prepare
- Travel and camp on durable surfaces only
- Dispose of waste properly
- Leave what you find as it is
- Minimize effects of fires
- Respect farm animals and wildlife from a distance
- Be considerate of other visitors
Following these guidelines means we can enjoy stunning sites responsibly. 🩵

28/08/2026

We wanted to share a reminder that our temporary exhibition 'Salt to Plate' by Debasis Biswas is still running until 31 October in our Annex building. 🎣🏛️

This exhibition incorporates paintings, sculptural pieces and a documentary film. The story of the salmon fisheries is a human story of industry and resilience and DB has gathered a wealth of colourful and rich stories from those who worked these shores as part of what was once a thriving industry. DB also explores the global story of the wild Atlantic salmon through art and science. 🖼️🔬

You can visit us to explore this Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 5pm, and it's free to visit but donations would be welcome and appreciated.

Take this as your sign - if you've been meaning to pop in - to do it before the end of October!

26/08/2026

Happy . We'd love to see your Bettyhill dog pics, comment them below! 🐶🐾📷

23/08/2026

We want to highlight a community event happening soon that we think might be of interest to our followers! 🪧

Fiona Dempster and Barry Smith are holding a Pop-up Art Show on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August at Armadale Village Hall. 🎨

Visit between 11am and 4pm to see their work - there will be cards, jewellery, poetry, watercolours and more. Teas, coffees and bites to eat will be on offer as well. 🫖

Fiona held 'Hame' in our Annex back in Sept 2024 and Barry held 'Betrayal and Loss' in the Annex in Sept 2023. Both Fiona and Barry did a grand job and engaged with local children through school workshops. Barry's piece Loss was acquired by the museum and is on display upstairs in the Clachan Cafe.

22/08/2026

To celebrate we're sharing a paraphrased extract of a story within 'Tales of the North Coast', which is available to buy in our gift shop. 📖

This one is called 'The Boar's Scratch'. 🐗 It features Ben Loyal (the Queen of Scottish Mountains) and explains why it has a streak of light coloured rock running down the dark northern face. ⛰️

A wild boar of incredible size was causing great destruction. Dogs, cattle and even people were being carried off and devoured. Eventually, a Fingalian warrior came from Ireland to rid the countryside of the monster.
After days of tracking the boar, he ran the creature to earth on the slopes of Ben Loyal, driving the beast uphill to the very summit of the mountain. There they had a mighty battle but when the boar savagely lunged to attack with his poisonous tusks and missed, the warrior stabbed him with his spear. The boar having been mortally wounded, fell over the precipice.
As it fell the boar's tusks were so sharp and strong that they gouged a great white scar down the face of the mountain...

How amazing is this folklore?! Often local stories connect to the landscape that surround them, giving mountains, lochs and woods their own tales.

To read the original piece and to hear the ending, buy the book! 🛍️

19/08/2026

It's 📷
We appreciate all types of photography and some of our best photos on display show everyday Highland habits and way of living. They help us tell our stories and bring history to life. Portrait and family photos really do speak a thousand words but there is something about landscape photography that just hits differently... 😍 Maybe because we've got views like this on our doorstep - with Farr Bay, rolling hills and animals surrounding us! 🌊⛰️🐑

16/08/2026

We're taking part in the Doors Open Days festival again this year! 🎊 Join us on Saturday 19th September between 10am-5pm, there's plenty to get involved with...
There will be live demos of traditional crafts from weaving and spinning to boat building. 🛠️
Explore the Mackay Country Archive and the seminal publication At Home in Mackay Country published in 2005.
Our current exhibition - Salt to Plate - is still on. This explores the heritage and conservation of salmon fisheries along the north coast of Scotland and beyond with local wildlife artist and documentary filmmaker Debasis Biswas. 🎣
Find out more about our Caithness and Sutherland Culture Collective Artist in Residence programme - they will be working with the community to create a piece of work exploring living heritage traditions in our communities over 15 months.
We'll have a kids activity too, so the whole family can enjoy a visit together. 👪

Address

Clachan
Bettyhill
KW147SS

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

+441641521418

Website

http://www.strathnavermuseum.org.uk/

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