Brora, Sutherland, Scotland, Part 2

More on this Scottish village 60 miles north of Inverness

By Keith A. Forbes at keithaforbes@btinternet.com.  Keith, disabled, lives in Brora. 

Brora is circled in blue

Brora - Introduction

Churches in Brora and nearby

They are included on this Brora website (but not on the Brora Community website) because it is recognized and appreciated that they provide a uniquely valuable and essential community service not only on Sundays but in many other forms of spiritual advice. Plus, they are where members of the community attend, including members of the Brora Community Council (BCC) in their private or official capacities, for funerals of departed community members.

Church of Scotland

• Church of Scotland, Brora. Minister Rev. Ian W. MacCree, Clyne Manse, 40 Golf Road. Victoria Road, phone 01408 621239. Mob 0774 5837245. Sunday service 10:30 am. Linked with Kildonan and Loth Helmsdale. Gabled. pinnacled Gothic. Small, grey, buttressed Clynelish stone kirk, characteristic of architect John Robertson. With Curved dressed stone window facings. Once with a ridge spire, removed in 1945. 
• Free Church of Scotland, Brora. Gower Street at 11.30 am and 6.30 pm every Sunday and Thursday at 7.30 PM
• Fisherman's Mission. Gower Street

Fisherman's Mission

• Roman Catholic Church, Brora

• Scottish Episcopal Church, Brora. St. Columba. Victoria Road. 01408 633341. Sunday Services at 9:45 am and 11:30 am. Prefabricated Corrugated iron, possibly acquired from Speirs & Co. of Glasgow, most likely after the arrival of the railway at Brora, carried from the station in a cart and horse. 

Clyne War Memorial 

Tall, distinctive, baronial and c.1920, a local Lower Brora landmark in the village. With names of all from Brora who served in the UK Armed Forces and died during the Great War, World War 2 and Gulf War, and a several-sided clock that keeps time. Repaired in 2004. A solemn annual Remembrance Day service is held here.

Photos February 2004 by authors Keith and Lois Forbes

Council Taxes

See under Highland Council

Disabled Parking in Brora

• One "Disabled Badge only" space in the main village car park, often abused by non-disabled badge people
• One Disabled area adjacent to Scouts Hall, across the main road from the public library. No disabled parking facilities outside the library but there are parking spaces there for other vehicles.
• One Disabled Parking area outside Brora Health Centre, Station Square, put there in July 2009.

Be aware that Disabled Parking in Brora is frequently abused. 

Doll Community  Association

Doll. 

East Sutherland Arts Society

Based in Golspie. New members welcome. 

East Sutherland Camera Club

New members welcome. 

East Sutherland Rotary Club

Officially The Rotary Club of East Sutherland. Meets Wednesdays at 1800 hours at the Sutherland Inn, Fountain Square, Brora KW9 6NX. Phone 01408 621209. One of the Rotary Clubs of the 1010 district. Secretary until July 2009 is William Sutherland, email wilsuth2@aol.com or phone 01862 811898, thereafter Alisdair Millar, email alisdair.miller@mypostoffice.co.uk or phone 01408 633556. Present senior Vice President is Alistair Risk, President from July 2009 to June 2010 following present President Pat May.

Education 

Locally available premises:

• Brora Primary School.  01408 621441. 1962. Originally designed as a secondary school when Clyne School on Victoria Street was closed, it is a typical 1960s school with flat roof and large windows. Also houses the Community Centre.  Highland Council-funded. 
• The only Sutherland secondary school is located in Golspie. 
• Brora Community Learning Centre. Johnstone Place, Brora. Phone 01408 622707. Fax 01408 622729. Email Trish Matthews, Manager, at trish.matthews@highland.gov.uk. Local further education. With a program of courses including First Steps to Computing; European Computer Driving License (ECDL); ECDL Support Class; Digital Photography (Beginners and Intermediate); Photo Stories (working with Microsoft PowerPoint); Desktop Publishing; Music Workshops; Stop Frame Animation; Graffiti Art; Art and Craft Workshops; Taster (introduction to Sign Language. Highland Council-funded.
• Gaarfields Day Nursery, Community Centre. Brora KW9 6NH. 01408 621719. Mobile 0790 1801566. Professional day care for children from birth to P7.

Electricity

Suppliers include Scottish Hydro Electric. Newcomers are urged to compare prices before buying; never to pay any bills before they arrive and if their homes or outbuildings are both two-way and three way electricity on separate meters, to quickly arrange for the most economical if their premises are not for commercial purposes. Commercial rates of electricity are far more expensive than in England and more expensive than in Scottish metropolitan areas.

Power outages can be caused by a number or problems including high winds or gales and trees blown down; and geese or other birds flying into lines. Householders should expect per cuts or outages from time to time. Be prepared to wait three hours or more for the electricity to come back on, before which central heating won't work; and equip themselves with an emergency portable gas stove and spare small butane gas cylinders.

Environment 

The beaches are one of Brora's finest features for the able (ie not disabled or with mobility problems, sorry, no safe access for them), one north of the Brora River, the other one, Back Beach, going south, invisible from the A9.  Approach the first from the Brora Golf Course to the public path or over a croft level crossing from Victoria Road, then over the golf course. The beach parallels the golf course. At Back Beach going south towards Golspie there is a car park with picnic tables nearby. On a clear day, views are superb, to Portmahomack and its lighthouse; and across the Moray Firth, the outline of Nairnshire can be seen.  

Co-author Lois Forbes on Brora Beach, looking north, January 25, 2004. Photo by Keith Forbes

Birdwatching. Find well over 200 different species of bird at one time or another in the area, many of them migrants stopping off briefly in spring and autumn in route to or from where they breed. They find Brora attractive with its good range of different habitats.  They vary from sandy to rocky on the coastline, agricultural areas adjacent flanked by heather moorland, Clynelish Moss with its unusual tundra-like habitat, peat bogs, with Loch Brora and Strath Brora as breeding grounds for freshwater species. The woodland varies from deciduous (mainly birch and alder) to plantations of pine, with a mini-Caledonian 'forest' of Scots Pine developing on the drained section of Clynelish Moss. You may find, depending on the season and where you go - for example, the beaches, croft lands, Loch Brora, etc - birds including Arctic tern, black-throated diver, cormorant, curlew, dippers, eider, fulmar, gannet, gills, geese, golden plover, greenshanks, grey wagtails, guillemot, kittiwake, lapwings, oystercatcher, pied wagtails, puffin, razorbill, red grouse, redshank, ringed plover, sandwich, shag, skua, shearwater, snipe. Birds of prey include buzzard, hen harriers, kestral, merlin, osprey, peregrine, sparrow hawk, possibly even a golden eagle. Some species don't go this far north. 

Brora Harbour. Very small, with fishing and other vessels registered at Wick. 

Brora Harbour Users Group. 

Brora River. Scenic, with fishing with appropriate permits. Find fossils about a mile up on the river bank.

River Brora District Salmon Fisheries Board. Licenses local and other fishermen/women.

Clynekirkton. Brora area. See remains of roofless former Clyne Parish Church, 1775. A rear wing was added in 1827. Once, the kirk could accommodate 1000 worshippers. It was superseded by Brora and closed in 1921. Its chief interest today is its burial ground full of tombstones, some with fine calligraphy and decoration. Also at Clynekirkton are an early 18th century bell tower and Balranald, a 1775 manse rebuilt 1830-40, once a spacious residence. Mentioned prominently at the Brora Heritage Centre as a place of special interest to persons seeking genealogical information from tombstones and a source to the Clynelish Heritage Society.

Loch Brora. Superb loch a few miles away, once a salmon breeding area, full of other interesting and historical connections.

Strath Brora. Lovely area by Loch Brora, with buildings including Gordonbush Lodge, 1871 overlooking the loch, and Balnacoil Lodge, 1880.

Genealogy and Genealogical research

People living in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean islands, New Zealand, United States of America and elsewhere, whose ancestors came from this village or nearby, often use this site for their initial enquiries, before visiting in person to look into their family ancestry and make initial contact with those who can help them. We would like to help our visitors offering a free courtesy electronic hyperlink (link) from this website to the websites of all local and regional clan societies, family history, heritage society and genealogy groups and individuals, if they will reciprocate by showing a link from their website to this one. Unfortunately, none do. All we ask in return is that they show us as a linked resource. 

Healthcare and medical services

Heating and power 

• There is no central gas supply but some houses use gas piped in from a tank sited on their premises. Expect to pay a surcharge for the cost of trucking.
• Most households use oil (kerosene) trucked in from Inverness or Wick. There are several suppliers. Expect to pay a surcharge for the cost of trucking.

Highland Council 

The regional Authority, one of the 32 unitary authorities established in Scotland on 1 April 1996. Before the degeneration, it was a two-level authority, with each county having one. Unlike much of Europe it does not have a third level. Its area covers the size of Holland and Belgium. 

Highland Council services with particular relevance to Brora include:

East Sutherland and Edderton Ward, with the following three elected councillors,  each of whom represents the whole ward.  It stretches from the Struie Hills above Edderton to Helmsdale and Kinbrace, including Dornoch, Rogart, Golspie and Brora.

Highland Councillors (alphabetically): 

• Deirdre Mackay: http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourcouncil/yourcouncillors/councillorscontactdetails/ward05/ward-05e.htm?wbc_purpose=bas .

• Jim McGillivray: http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourcouncil/yourcouncillors/councillorscontactdetails/ward05/ward-05g.htm?wbc_purpose=bas. 

• Ian Ross: http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourcouncil/yourcouncillors/councillorscontactdetails/ward05/ward-05j.htm?wbc_purpose=bas.

Out of hours emergency and other handy numbers: 

• Brora Service Point 01408 622644. It plays a key role in local taxes. Its many services include photo copying, issue of photo ID to senior citizens to qualify for free or discounted Highland bus and coach travel, etc. Its Council Taxes - see separate heading above - apply to every business and home owner and tenant in the region. No longer with Computer Public Access. 

• Council Taxes, 2009/2010. Applied by the Highland Council.  They include annual Scottish Water charges for the financial year 1st April to 31st March. While for most Council tax rates have stayed the same for 2009/2010 as they were in 2008-2009 and 2007-2008, the cost of Scottish Water - owned solely by the Scottish Government and a monopoly - increased by about 10% in 2008/2009 and was further increased in 2009/2010 despite the massive economic downturn. Council Taxes cost approximately the same here for a semi-detached or detached property - bungalow or house - with a market value of under £200,000 as they do for a semi-detached property with a market value of over £850,000 in London.  See Scottish Council Taxes. According to the Highland Council Information Leaflet, Council Tax Bands are supposed to "reflect the Assessor's opinion of what the market value of your property would have been as at 1 April 1991." But in some cases they don't, they've been raised substantially for some new buyers. Also, two rates of Council Tax banding seem to apply.  

One person alone living in the property is entitled to a Single Occupancy Discount of 25%. More than two occupiers who are not full-time students mean that the Band rate is increased by more than £500 a year, unlike in the USA, Canada and other places where one rate applies irrespective of the number of occupants. Deductions and rebates are available for those who qualify.

Newcomers who want to conserve water and would like to be able to get a water meter to their homes instead of paying the rates above - as they have in most parts of England - will be disappointed. Scottish water does not have them.

See under "Brora areas (streets or places)" mentioned above for present Highland Council Taxes by area.

Former TEC Services now vacant, for sale. Photo by Keith Forbes

• Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross Planning Applications and Review Committee:
  Chairman: Donald Mackay, (Ind), Thurso
  Vice-Chairman: Robert Coghill, (Ind), Landward Caithness
• Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross Licensing Committee:
  Chairman: Alasdair Rhind, (Ind), Tain and Easter Ross
• Community Warden. None in this part of Sutherland or in villages nearby.
• Highland Energy Efficiency Advice Centre. Provides energy advice to members of the public across the Highland area. Operates from Inverness with nearest facility to Brora in Alness.  
• Planning Environment and Development Committee:
  Chairman:  Ian Ross, (Lib Dem), East Sutherland Edderton
• Planning & Development Service. Sutherland Area Office, The Meadows, Dornoch IV25 3SG.  01862 812040. Fax 01862 812040.. Planning applications are advertised in the local newspaper. Send comments, valid objections or expressions of support to: Area Planning and Building Standards Manager, Sutherland, Allan Todd, B.Sc, MPhil, MRTPI, Highland Council, The Meadows, Dornoch IV25 3SG. Phone 01862 812040. Fax 01862 810979. E-mail planning.sutherland@highland.gov.uk. 
• Transport, Environmental and Community Services (TEC) In April 2008, they moved from Brora to the new Sutherland HC HQ at Golspie. Until then they were in the offices above, once a church, on Victoria Road. 

Highlands & Islands Fire & Rescue Service

Group Manager, Sutherland District Office, The Meadows, Dornoch IV25 3SF. Phone 01862 811044. Golspie Retained Station is on Seaforth Road, Golspie KW10 6TJ. An important emergency service for our local community. Offers a free home fire safety survey.

Homes and Land in Brora for sale

• Potential buyers from outside the village of Brora of Brora and area homes need to know before they buy that the Highland Council will automatically up their Council Tax banding by one band, even if there has been no development or improvements. It's hugely unfair and discriminatory to newcomers.  It will go up a band automatically, unless challenged promptly on two counts, namely there's no justification for doing so unless extensive work has been done recently to justify a council tax band increase - and how the property is banded compared to neighbours on either side. As matters now stand, new arrivals pay banding at the current year's rate but others who have lived nearby for far longer pay banding at rates enacted in the early 1990s. There are some huge variations in Council Tax Banding, with some houses worth far less than others paying a lot more in council tax banding. Before you buy, establish not only what your council tax banding is but what those of your neighbours on either side of you are. Don't buy until you are able to find out. Also ascertain in advance what  Development Potential your intended home will have. If you have enough land can you build a cottage? Have neighbours on either side of you received planning permission for their new houses? If so, you should expect the same right. Local development plans need to be as fair to new arrivals as they've been to earlier settlers. Currently, they are not. Ask to see it before you buy. If the estate agent or seller can't answer your questions about all the above then wait until they can before you buy. 
• Council Tax can be the same for a £160,000 property in Brora as they are for a £850,000 property in London or Edinburgh. 

Homes:

• Go to Highland Solicitors Property Centre at http://www.hspc.co.uk. On the right  side of the screen is a pointer to the Postal Code you seek. Enter the Postal Code for Brora (KW9) and see properties currently listed for sale in or near the village. 
• For those throughout Sutherland see http://www.hspc.co.uk/2007/results.asp?area=6$&searchtype=map&desc=Property%20for%20Sale%20in%20Sutherland.
• Also at Mill Wynd, Brora, from Tulloch Homes at http://www.tulloch-homes.com. 

From 1 December 2008 every property in Scotland must have a Home Report (in other parts of the UK a Home Information Pack (HIP) paid for by the person or family selling the property before they can sell it. A Home Report or HIP is a new document designed to provide buyers with more information about homes they are thinking of buying before they submit an offer.  It is part of a series of measures said to be introduced across Europe reflected in legislation to help cut out carbons emissions and tackle climate change.  The Home Report is reputed to provide a measure of the overall energy efficiency of the home and its environmental impact and is required whenever a building is built, sold or rented out. The property's performance is rated in terms of energy use per square metre of floor area; energy efficiency based on fuel costs and environmental impact based on CO2 emissions. You, or more likely your selling solicitor, will be required to have a copy before your home is advertised for sale and to make a copy available to interested buyers of your home. The Home Report includes three separate reports; the Property Questionnaire; the Single Survey; and an Energy Report.

The Property Questionnaire

This asks you to answer questions about your home that only you are likely to know. 

Have you, for example, installed new replacement windows, or added an extension? 

Do any of your neighbours have the right to walk across your property to empty their bins? 

As far as you know, has your home ever had a problem with rot? 

These are the sort of questions you will be asked to answer.  

While many of them will be straightforward, you may not be clear about the answers to others. In some cases, your answer could raise questions at the conveyancing stage that should be dealt with now.

 If, for example, you made an alteration to your home, you will need to show that you obtained a building warrant if one was required and that you got planning consent if necessary. 

If you don't have these documents, then this is the time to take remedial action. 

If you are in any doubt, the solicitor you appoint to sell your home will be able to advise you on the best course of action.

 The Single Survey

The Single Survey is a detailed survey of your home conducted by a qualified surveyor. 

It will also provide an estimate of market value.  

The survey will list the main features of your home and give an assessment of condition for each one. 

There are three scales, namely:

 scale from 1 = no repairs necessary, to 3 = urgent repairs or replacement are needed now. 

If the survey for your home features a category 3 repair, you might want to consider carrying out the repair yourself before putting your home on the market. 

However, that may not always be the best solution.   

You can rely on your solicitor to advise you on whether it is better to repair or to sell your home as it is.  

You can also expect your solicitor to appoint a surveyor on your behalf who is familiar with, and sympathetic to, your area. 

The Energy Report

The Energy Report provides a measure of how energy efficient your home is.  

 It is done in pretty much the same way that dishwashers and other electrical appliances now display an energy rating.  

The report, which will be conducted by the surveyor who provides the Single Survey, also provides information on how you or any buyer could improve the energy efficiency of your home.  

Unfortunately, all who live in this East Sutherland region  are not going to get a good energy rating on the homes they want to sell. Why not? It was explained in part in the Northern Times of February 20, 2008 in a front-page article titled "Energy assessment scheme a travesty." 

It boils down to the fact that unless you have mains piped-in gas as many cities do (but which no properties in this region do) you'll get a poor rating, despite the quality of local plumbing and heating. 

You can have a very efficient "green" boiler and it might well have a boiler-efficiency rating of 90% or above to a boiler inspector but unless you run it on mains gas the report will say your boiler is inefficient. 

Similarly, if you use electricity to heat hot water and cook by LPG gas (the only kind of gas available locally, as trucked in and put into a metal gas tank), or use oil (kerosene) from an oil tank on your property to heat your house you'll get a low rating. Why? Because the gas and oil have to be trucked in. 

The UK Government and Scottish Governments have made no allowances at all for better efficiency ratings for homes in this region that have no piped-in gas, even when home heating - for example, from locally-sourced wood - is considered to be good from an environmental point of view.

Jubilee Fountain

Cast iron, 1897, almost certainly designed by MacFarlane of Glasgow, it commemorates the golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria and is the central point of the village, with shops, public houses and services opposite and near it. The surrounding site was upgraded in May/June 2008.

Local organizations

Lodge Clyne No. 1400

A Masonic Lodge based in Brora. 

Member of Parliament 

Westminster, MP. John Thurso. Scottish Liberal Democrat, which wants to take back power and change politics for good in light of the recent parliamentary scandals re some corrupt Members of Parliament. E-mail thursoj@parliament.uk. In the 5th May 2005 General Election in the redrawn and now extended Northern Highlands constituency of Caithness, Sutherland (which includes Brora), Easter Ross, Alness and Evanton (the latter three in Ross-shire). With over 50% of the votes. Scottish Liberal Democrat. Thurso East Mains, Thurso, Caithness KW14 8HW. 3rd Viscount Thurso, grandson of the first Viscount, Sir Archibald Sinclair, a one time leader of the Liberal Party and Secretary of State for Scotland. Sir Archibald Sinclair represented Caithness & Sutherland from 1922 until 1945. His grandson, the 3rd Viscount, was born in 1953 and is married with a daughter and two sons. He was schooled at Thurso and then sent to Eton. Lord Thurso first stood for parliament in 2001, inheriting the seat of Robert Maclennan, who is now a member of the House of Lords as Baron Maclennan of Rogart. His wife, Lady Marion Thurso, is a Highland Councillor for Thurso, Ward 02.

Member of European Parliament

• George Lyon, MEP. http://www.georgelyon.org.uk. Scottish Liberal Democrat, based in Glasgow.  He was elected in June 2009. He topped the poll for the Highlands with 30.8%, compared to SNP 27%; Conservatives 12%; Labour 10%; Greens 7%; UKIP 7%; Christians 3%). He is a Highlander, farmer, former chair of NFU Scotland, former MSP and Scottish government minister.

Members of the Scottish Parliament

• Rob Gibson MSP, 4 Grant Street, Wick, Caithness, KW1 5AY, phone 01955 605016, email Rob.Gibson.msp@scottishparliament.uk 
• Rhoda Grant MSP. PO Box 5717, Inverness IVI 1YT. 01463 716299. Email Rhoda.Grant.msp@scottish.parliament.uk 
• Jamie McGrigor MSP. 61 Chalmers Street, Ardrishaig, Argyll PA30 8DX. Phone 01546 606586. Email Jamie.McGrigor@scottish.parliament.uk 
• Peter Peacock MSP. PO Box 5717, Inverness IVI 1YT. Phone 01463 716399. Email Peter.Peacock.msp@scottish.parliament.uk 
• Mary Scanlon MSP. 37 Ardconnel Terrace, Inverness IV2 3AE, 01463 233986. Email Mary.Scanlon.msp@scottish.parliament.uk 
• David Stewart MSP. PO Box 5717, Inverness IVI 1YT. 01463 716299. Email David.Stewart.msp@scottish.parliament.uk 
• Jamie Stone, MSP. 26 Tower Street, Tain, Ross-shire IV19 1DY, phone 01862 892726. E-mail Jamie.Stone.msp@scottish.parliament.uk. He is the official constituency member, meaning he won the highest number of votes in this electoral district in the last Scottish Parliament General Election. 

Jamie Stone, constituency MSP

Vote if

• aged 18 or over
• A qualifying British, Commonwealth or European Union citizen
• Your name is on the electoral register. To get on it in this area, become a full-time (year-round) local resident and apply to the Highland Council.

Newspapers, local and regional

Daily

Press & Journal (Aberdeen, Highlands and Islands edition), only daily of the region. 40p. 48 pages. E-mail pj.editor@ajl.co.uk. For letters to Editor, include full name, address, postal code and phone number for verification. By far the best newspaper for daily regional and community news.

Weekly

• Northern Times. 60p. For once-weekly, about 12 pages, local news advertising about Brora, Golspie & rest of Sutherland. Phone 01408 633028. Duncan Ross, Editor 12 pages. Published at Main Street, Golspie KW10 6RA. Phone 01408 633993.

Places of Worship

See under Churches.

Police

• Northern Constabulary. Police Station. Colbheinn Road, Brora KW9 6NZ. Telephone 01408 621222. Fax  01408 622212.

Post Office

For local office see Brora Business Community. Well-run, a great asset to the village.

Recycling

Roads

A9 - main road, classified as a trunk road by the Scottish Parliament and Westminster but would not qualify as a main road under American or Canadian legislation because it has only one lane each way, no passing lane to overtake slow traffic   - passes through the village, all the way north to Caithness and south, via Inverness, to Perth. A plan going back to at least 1995 to have the A9 by-pass the village has not yet materialized. Minor roads, most of them single-track roads with passing places, go west and north.

Rubbish collection

Weekly, on a day specified for the area, by the Highland Council, in a wheelie bin provided to each household for the purpose. Do not use the wheelie bin for dog or cat or other animal or human excrement.

Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA)

Local group is chaired by Bill Faassen de Heer, of Brora. 

Scottish Woman's Royal Institute

Ann Brown, 2 Manse Road, Brora.

Sports

There are good facilities in the village or nearby for deer catching, river and sea fishing, tennis, badminton, billiards and bowling.

Brora Golf Club, Golf Road,  Brora KW9 6QS, Sutherland.  01408 621417. 01408 622157.  E-mail secretary@broragolf.co.uk. Open year-round. Created in 1898, the 18-hole golf course was designed by Scotsman James Braid (1870-1950) in 1897. It has 144 acres, extending from Brora north to East Brora Muir, a long way. It welcomes residents and visitors. Excellent location by the sea, bordered by a gorgeous beach on one side and croft lands on the other, with panoramic mountain backdrop and seascapes. Fine, challenging, comfortable modern clubhouse, good catering. Extreme day length in June and July means golf is available at night. There is also a Brora Old Boys Seniors Golf Society.

• Brora Bowling and Tennis Club, The Secretary, Golf Road, Brora KW9 6QS. Welcomes newcomers, those on holiday and other visitors.
• Brora Rangers Football Club, founded 1879. Member of the Scottish Football Association and in the Highland Football League since 1962. The club is on the south side of Brora as you enter the village. Dudgeon Park, Brora. Ground Capacity: 3,250. Seats: 250. Home colours: red and white stripes, white shorts, red socks. Team members usually play every Saturday in the football season, home or away. Nearest other football clubs are Golspie Stafford, 6 miles south, and Helmsdale United, 14 miles north east.

Sutherland Access Panel

Two Brora residents, Keith and Lois Forbes, are panel members. Established in 1990, it was set up to achieve greater public awareness of the needs of people with disabilities gaining access to public buildings. 

Sutherland Caledonian Pipe Band

Seaforth Place, Brora KW9 6PL. Phone 10408 621198. Margaret Davidson, Secretary. 01408 621198.

Sutherland Egyptian Dance Club

Since late 2002. Meets in Brora and Golspie. Welcomes new members, ages 20 to 80. Not a belly dance but a dance by women for other women. Two different kinds of dances, a baladi and a faster sha'abi. 

Other places or things called Brora or Clyne or Clynelish

• Baby Brora. A line of children's clothes from Brora Scottish Cashmere (see below). 
• Brora Close, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, England
• Brora Court, Perth
• Brora Crescent, Hamilton, Lanarkshire
• Brora Drive, Giffnock, Glasgow
• Brora Drive, South Bend, Indiana 44614, USA
• Brora Drive, Renfrew
• Brora Gardens, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow
• Brora Lodge B&B, Wigtown, Galloway at http://www.brora-lodge.co.uk.
• Brora Place, Crossford, Dunfermline
• Brora Place, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire
• Brora Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow
• Brora Road, Nottingham, England
• Brora Cashmere - based in England.
• Brora Street, Glasgow
• Brora Swede (a vegetable, with deep purple skins, super-sweet taste, fast-growing.
• Brora Ward. A new (2005) planning division of Sutherland, embracing Brora, Helmsdale and beyond.
• Clynelish. A Brora area
• Clynelish Rough Collies. A dog, bred mostly in England.
• Clyne Castle, Swansea Bay, Wales
• Clyne Gardens, superb parklands near Clyne Castle
• Clynekirkton
• East Brora, Brora
• East Brora Muir, Brora
• East Clyne
• Inverbrora, Brora. Original name of village, also name locally of a farm. 
• "Leaving Strath Brora" - a bagpipe melody by Mr. Aitken. 
• Loch Brora. Near the village.
• River Brora. Passes through the village to the sea.
• Strath Brora.  Opposite Loch Brora.
• West Clyne

Other parts of Sutherland & north

See more Treasures of Britain

Written, administered and web-mastered here in East Sutherland, Scotland, by

Keith A. Forbes, at keithaforbes@btinternet.com. 
© 2009. Revised: June 21, 2009

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