Kinbrace

Approaching from the south

Kinbrace is a tiny settlement on the edge of the vast landscape of the Flow Country of the Northern Highlands. It is set around a road junction and railway station, but today consists of little more than a dozen homes. The shop has long closed, the school and chapel sold off, but a garage continues to trade, serving the vast, empty hinterland. The junction between the A897 and B871 is a north facing fork, with the B871 climbing up through the village almost parallel to the main road for the last hundred metres or so. The height difference is not great, but houses now lie on the slope between the two roads. Because of the acute angle at which the two routes meet, a bowl has been cut out of the hillside opposite the junction to allow larger vehicles to turn, with most traffic to/from the B871 probably heading south on the A897.

The junction must rank as one of the remotest in the UK. It is 21 miles north to the A836 at Melvich, 16 miles west along the B871 to the B873 at Syre or 17 miles south to Helmsdale on the A9, although a minor road does branch off seven miles to the south at Kildonan and cross the hills to also reach the A9.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A897	Melvich, Thurso (A836)
A897	Helmsdale
B871	Syre, Altnaharra (B873), Bettyhill (A836)