The Friends of the Far North Line
Cairdean Na Loine Tuath
the campaign group for rail north of
Inverness - lobbying for improved services for the local user, tourist and freight
operator
On 7 August King Charles III visited the Far North Line for the second time in recent years to unveil a plaque at Helmsdale Station to mark the 150th anniversary of the final extension of the line.
This visit was organised by the Lord Lieutenant of Sutherland, Major General Patrick Marriott CB, CBE and was combined with a walk to the Kildonan Parish War Memorial nearby, for a ceremony to celebrate its centenary three weeks later. The King's visit there was marked by the flypast of an RAF Typhoon.
The King showed a keen interest in the restoration project which transformed Helmsdale Station a few years ago. He seems to have a soft spot for railways, having mentioned the highlight of his childhood visits to Balmoral being breakfast on the train on the Deeside line, when he unveiled the Red Wheel at Dunrobin Castle Station in 2021.
The Helmsdale plaque, a slab of Caithness slate, has since been erected on the station alongside the "Jellicoe Express" plaque.
This was the King's second visit to a station on the Far North Line this year, having visited the RSPB Flow Country base at Forsinard on 31 July [left] to mark the inscription of the area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that month.
Three royal visits to the FNL in three years is pretty good going!