The scattered crofting community of Strathy lies on the main north coast road and is spread across the valley of
the River Strathy where it flows into the sea at Strathy Bay.
Strathy originally consisted of just a handful of crofts. However, in 1790 the land around Strathy was purchased
by an Edinburgh lawyer called William Honeyman. He is said to have been the first landowner in the north to
realise that he could make more money by leasing his land to sheep farmers than to the local crofters. Thus, he
began to evict his tenants and is therefore reputed to have started the Sutherland clearances. These clearances
continued after Honeyman sold his estate to the Marquis of Stafford and the Countess of Sutherland. Following the
clearances, Strathy grew in size to accommodate the crofters cleared from the Strathy Estate and from nearby
Strathnaver.
Despite its small size, Strathy is notable for the number of churches in the area. The first was built in 1828,
like many in Sutherland to a design by Thomas Telford. Then, following the religious schism of 1843 which saw the
formation of the Free Church, a second was built. Further divisions in the church followed and at one time the
village had no fewer than four separate churches and congregations.
Strathy Bay consists of a wide sandy beach and numerous caves and rocky stacks. Just to the west of the village
is a minor road which leads out to Strathy Point. A short walk from the car park at the end of the road takes
you to the lighthouse. Commissioned in 1958, this was the last manned lighthouse to be built in Scotland, and
also the first to be run on electricity. Like all of Scotland's lighthouses, it was fully automated in 1996 and is
now monitored and controlled from Edinburgh.
