Coldbackie
| Coldbackie Gaelic: Callbacaidh | |
| Sutherland | |
|---|---|
 Coldbackie by Tongue | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NC613599 |
| Location: | 58°30’22"N, 4°21’4"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Lairg |
| Postcode: | IV27 |
| Dialling code: | 01847 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
Coldbackie is a crofting township on the north coast of Sutherland.
Coldbackie stands at the mouth of the Kyle of Tongue, two miles north-east of Tongue itself, under Cnoc an Fhreiceadain (the Watch Hill), looking north across Tongue Bay to the Rabbit Islands. It is one of a series of townships, running from Tongue along the A836 to Blandy. The township of Scullomie is mile to the north.
Name
The name Coldbackie could have Old Norse or Gaelic roots. The name is not unique to the Kyle of Tongue; there are two Coldbacks in Shetland (in Unst and in Delting) and one in north-west Iceland, both areas where Norse roots would be more likely. Omand, in The Sutherland book, translates Coldbackie as kula-bakki meaning "bank with the bump", whilst Stewart, in Place names of Shetland says that 'Coldbacks' means "Cold Hill".
