Ulbster
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
|official_name= Ulbster
|scots_name=
|gaelic_name=
|static_image_name= File:Sinclair Mausoleum and Mains of Ulbster - geograph.org.uk - 1052914.jpg
|static_image_caption= The Sinclair Mausoleum, with Ulbster Mains in the background
|map_type= Caithness
|coordinates= {{coord|58.35489|-3.15669|display=inline,title}}
|population=
|os_grid_reference= ND324064
|unitary_scotland= Highland
|lieutenancy_scotland= Caithness
|country= Scotland
|post_town= LYBSTER
|postcode_area= KW
|postcode_district= KW2
|dial_code= 01955
|constituency_westminster= Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
|constituency_scottish_parliament= Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
}}
Ulbster is a scattered crofting hamlet on the eastern coast of Caithness, within the parish of Wick, in the Scottish Highlands, within the Highland Council area.{{cite web|title=Ulbster|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst1636.html|website=The Gazetteer for Scotland|publisher=School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society|access-date=4 January 2018}}{{Bing maps | url = https://binged.it/2CTUDM2 | title=Ulbster| accessdate = 7 March 2017}} The town of Wick is located seven miles north of the village along the A99 road. To the south of the village, two miles along the A99, lies the ancient port of Whaligoe, where the famous 330 steps were cut into a cliff on the instruction of Thomas Telford in 1786.
History
Owned for many years by a cadet branch of the Sinclair Earls of Caithness, the hamlet is most notable for the Sinclair Mausoleum, within the grounds of the mediaeval St Martin's Chapel. Sir John, one of the Sinclairs of Ulbster, was a noted statistician who wrote the pioneering work Statistical Accounts of Scotland.
Naming
The name Ulbster comes from the Old Norse ulfr bólstathr meaning 'wolf's dwelling', though there have been no wolves in the region for many years.Mills, A. D.; Room, Adrian (2002). The Oxford Names Companion. Oxford: the University Press. p. 1227.
Gallery
Whaligoe 01.jpg|The cliffs and harbour at Whaligoe.
Whaligoe 03.jpg|Descending the Whaligoe Steps.
File:Entrance to "Long Cairn" at Yarrows. - geograph.org.uk - 1502693.jpg|Entrance to "Long Cairn" at Yarrows slightly north of Ulbster.
File:Loch Waternan north end - geograph.org.uk - 545578.jpg|Loch Waternan north end, next to Ulbster.
File:Loch Watenan - geograph.org.uk - 416762.jpg|Loch Watenan is a freshwater loch, located in basin that may have been caused by ice erosion.
See also
References
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