Thurso is a community and previous burgh on the north shore of the Highland council location of Scotland. Positioned in the historical location of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the British mainland. It exists at the junction of the north-south A9 road as well as the west-east A836 road, connected to Bridge of Forss in the west and Castletown in the eastern. The 34-mile (55 km) River Thurso streams with the town as well as into Thurso Bay and also the Pentland Firth. The river tidewater serves as a tiny harbour. At the 2011 Census, Thurso had a population of 7,933. The bigger Thurso civil church including the town and also the surrounding countryside had a population of 9,112. Thurso functioned as a crucial Norse port, and later patronized ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. A prospering angling centre, Thurso additionally had a track record for its linen-cloth and also tanning activities. Since 2015 the Dounreay Nuclear Research Establishment, although mostly deactivated at the end of the 20th century, employs a considerable number of the neighborhood population. The Category-A noted ruined Old St Peter's Church (St. Peter's Kirk) is among the earliest churches in Scotland, dating to a minimum of 1125. The present church, St Andrew's as well as St Peter's, was constructed in 1832 to a design by William Burn in the Gothic style. The town consists of the main university of North Highland University and also Thurso Secondary School, the northern most secondary school on the British landmass, which was established in 1958. Thurso Castle, constructed in 1872, remains in ruins. Thurso is residence to the football (soccer) group, Thurso FC, developed in 1998, which play in the North Caledonian League, and the rugby teams Caithness Crushers and also Caithness RFC. Thurso train station, opened up in 1874, was the most northern station on the Sutherland as well as Caithness Railway. The neighboring port of Scrabster provides ferry solutions to the Orkney Islands; the Northlink ferryboat (MV Hamnavoe) operates between Scrabster as well as Stromness.