Thurso is a community and former burgh on the north coastline of the Highland council area of Scotland. Located in the historical area 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, attached to Bridge of Forss in the west and Castletown in the eastern. The 34-mile (55 kilometres) River Thurso flows with the town and right into Thurso Bay as well as the Pentland Firth. The river estuary works as a tiny harbour. At the 2011 Census, Thurso had a population of 7,933. The bigger Thurso civil church including the town and the bordering countryside had a population of 9,112. Thurso worked as a vital Norse port, as well as later on traded with ports throughout north Europe till the 19th century. A growing fishing centre, Thurso likewise had a credibility for its linen-cloth as well as tanning tasks. Since 2015 the Dounreay Nuclear Research Establishment, although mostly decommissioned at the end of the 20th century, employs a substantial number of the local populace. The Category-A listed wrecked Old St Peter's Church (St. Peter's Kirk) is one of the earliest churches in Scotland, dating to a minimum of 1125. The current church, St Andrew's and also St Peter's, was integrated in 1832 to a style by William Burn in the Gothic style. The community has the main campus of North Highland College as well as Thurso Senior High School, the northernmost secondary school on the British mainland, which was established in 1958. Thurso Castle, constructed in 1872, is in damages. Thurso is home to the football (soccer) group, Thurso FC, developed in 1998, which play in the North Caledonian League, as well as the rugby teams Caithness Crushers and Caithness RFC. Thurso railway station, opened in 1874, was one of the most north station on the Sutherland and also Caithness Train. The nearby port of Scrabster offers ferryboat services to the Orkney Islands; the Northlink ferryboat (MV Hamnavoe) runs in between Scrabster as well as Stromness.