164 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. XL 



homely " motherly " way, makes her guests so com- 

 fortable that they always leave her with regret. 



All the inns on the Duke of Sutherland's 

 property (almost without exception) are well kept, 

 cleanly, and moderate in their charges, to a degree 

 that the most suspicious and fastidious cockney 

 traveller can find no fault with ; and there is none 

 of that paltry imposition which one meets with so 

 frequently in remote places in other parts of the 

 Highlands, where a stranger is looked upon as fair 

 game for plunder. 



My tastes have generally led me to the north 

 and north-west of Sutherland, but there is also 

 much to interest and much to see in the eastern 

 parts of the county. Going by Dornoch and 

 Golspie, both excellent inns, thence along the 

 coast to Brora and Helmsdale, two fishing-colonies, 

 and turning northwards to Bighouse, the traveller 

 can either return by Tongue or by Strathnaver, a 

 beautiful green strath, which takes him to Aultna- 

 harrow. 



My description of the different routes is short 

 and imperfect, as I do not pretend to write a 

 " road " or " guide " book ; but I simply give this 

 sketch as the result of my own note-book, hoping 

 that it may be of use to any one wishing to see 

 the most interesting county in Britain, and one 



