THE FORSS AND HALLADALE. 403 



With the exception of those in the Reay and Halkirk 

 districts, few of the lochs in Caithness contain large 

 trout and many, the lochs at Dunnet-head for instance, 

 possess no fish of any kind. In the loch of Syster, 

 there are a few trout s. The Reay territory, however, 

 which lies partly in Caithness, and partly in the county 

 of Sutherland, is in high esteem among anglers. Its 

 principal rivers are the Forss and Halladale. The Forss 

 originates in a small lake south of Ben-na-Bad, and 

 passing through Loch Shurery, empties itself after a 

 course of seventeen miles, into the bay of Cross-kirk. 

 It abounds, at a certain season, in salmon, grilses, and 

 sea-trout. The Halladale takes its rise in the boundary 

 betwixt Reay and Kildonan, running nearly due north 

 for about twenty miles, and falling into the bay of 

 Bighouse. Its average breadth is sixty feet. As an 

 angling river, it is superior to the Forss. Of the lakes 

 in this district of country, the largest are Loch Shurery, 

 Loch Cailm, Loch Scirach, and Loch Sleitill, the last- 

 mentioned of which contains red trout of a superior 

 description, measuring, it is affirmed, from two to three 

 feet long. 



In the parish of Halkirk, there are no fewer than 

 twenty-four lakes, of which Lochs Calder and More 

 are the principal. Most of these are connected with 

 the Thurso river, and contain trout of various kinds. 

 There are inns at the mouth of most of the rivers 

 throughout the county of Caithness, also at Halkirk on 

 the Thurso. 





