Photo: Tim Heaton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsBritain's most northerly railway, wandering 168 miles from Inverness along firths and through the Flow Country to Thurso and Wick.
The Far North Line shares its first 18 miles with the Kyle line to Dingwall, then heads north across the Cromarty and Dornoch firths to Tain, Ardgay and Lairg. A long inland detour, made to avoid the Dornoch Firth and please Victorian landowners, takes the line through Strath Fleet to Golspie and Dunrobin Castle before it rejoins the coast at Brora and Helmsdale.
North of Helmsdale the railway turns inland up the Strath of Kildonan, past Kinbrace and Forsinard into the Flow Country, the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2024. At Georgemas Junction the train reverses to serve Thurso, Britain's most northerly station, before running back and on to Wick.
Class 158 units work the line. Dunrobin Castle station, a private halt reopened for tourists, is a good place to break the journey in summer.
The Beauly, Cromarty and Dornoch firths, Dunrobin Castle and the Sutherland coast to Helmsdale are all on the right heading north.
Sides are given facing the direction of travel. Miles are approximate from the start of the journey.
The line splits there; trains run into Thurso, reverse, and then continue to Wick, so every train serves both towns.
Yes. Buses connect Thurso station with Scrabster for the NorthLink ferry to Stromness, and Wick or Thurso with John o' Groats for the summer passenger ferry.
Only just: the first train out of Inverness reaches Wick around midday and the last back leaves mid-afternoon, giving a couple of hours in town.
Scenic lineOften voted the world's most scenic railway: Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Ben Nevis and Glenfinnan Viaduct on one ordinary ScotRail ticket.
Scenic lineCoast-to-coast across the Highlands from Inverness to the Skye ferry port, ending on a shelf blasted along the shore of Loch Carron.
Scenic lineThe other arm of the West Highland Line, dividing at Crianlarich and running past Loch Awe and the Pass of Brander to the ferry port of Oban.