Ulbster
| Ulbster | |
| Caithness | |
|---|---|
 Cottage at Loch Of Yarrows | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ND324064 |
| Location: | 58°21’18"N, 3°9’24"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Lybster |
| Postcode: | KW2 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
Ulbster is a scattered crofting hamlet on the eastern coast of Caithness, within the parish of Wick.
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 mediæval St Martin's Chapel. Sir John Sinclair, one of the Sinclairs of Ulbster, was a noted statistician who wrote the pioneering work Statistical Accounts of Scotland.
The county town, Wick, is 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.
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.
References
- Overview of Ulbster. Gazetteer for Scotland. 2015.
- Mills, A. D.; Room, Adrian (2002). The Oxford Names Companion. Oxford: the University Press. p. 1227