Guide to getting here ...

   Welcome to the Valhalla Holiday Home blog and website.  

Here you can find images of the house and local countryside, 

links to places to go and activities to do in the surrounding area. 

Please feel free to explore our blog below and the

tabs to other parts of the website.  

View to Dingwall over the Cromarty Firth en route to Helmsdale

Helmsdale is situated on the north-east coast of Scotland, 

68 miles north of Inverness and located within the county of Sutherland. 

If travelling from parts of the UK or Europe the nearest Airports to Helmsdale are:

•  Wick Airport is 40 miles/by car 50 mins
•  Inverness Airport is 75 miles/by car 1 hr 40 mins
•  Aberdeen Airport is 169 miles/ by car 3 hrs 50 mins
•  Dundee Airport is 200 miles/by car 4 hours 
•  Edinburgh Airport is 219 miles/by car 4 hours 20 mins
•  Glasgow Airport is 243 miles/by car 4 hours 50 mins
•  Belfast Airport including a ferry 378 miles/by car 9 hours 
•  London is 634 miles/by car 11 hrs 15 mins (not so near)

Some airlines that fly into Inverness:
www.flybe.com 
www.easyjet.com
www.britishairways.com

 Some Top Tips For Your Journey

• If you are not flying to this part of the world we recommend you drive here.  Our family normally drive up the A9, the main trunk road north through Scotland. It's a stunning drive, and eventually forms part of the North Coast 500 Road Trip (from Inverness onwards) which is Scotland's answer to Route 66.  You will enjoy a variety of scenic country roads which includes castles, palaces, distilleries, mountain passes, flowing rivers, stunning lochs, forest trails and coastal views. 

• Specifically look out for Stirling Castle, Blair Castle, Tullibardine Distillery, Drumochter Pass, Tummel River, Loch Faskally, Moray Forth, Rothiemurchas Forest at Aviemore, and also the breathtaking mountains at the Cairngorm National Park. These are all points on the journey north to enjoy.

• For a truly magical experience consider an early or late start during summer for your journey when the weather is clear, and include a 4.00am morning sunrise or a 10.00pm evening sunset - its an amazing experience!

• 20 minutes from Brora and its long sandy beaches
• 25 mins from the beautiful village of Golspie and the fairytale Dunrobin Castle
• 40 mins from the picturesque town of Dornoch and its world famous golf course, the Royal Dornoch
• 50 mins from Tain and the renowned Glenmorangie Distillery
• 1 hr 10 mins to John O'Groats and the Pentland Firth
• 1 hr 30 min to Chanonry Point for Dolphin Watching
• 1 hour 50 mins to Inverness and the Loch Ness Monster
• Including the ferry, 3 hrs 15 mins to Orkney 

By Road - From Inverness (68 miles) and all points south, take the A9 across the Kessock Bridge, drive straight onwards passing Tain, Dornoch, Golspie, Brora until reaching Helmsdale.  Admire all the big sky views.  On arrival turn right just before the Bannockburn Inn onto main street through village, travel onto the end of this street and take a right by the Bridge Hotel.  Sutherland Street is 2nd turn on the right after that. Valhalla Holiday Home is 2nd house on left. 

By Road - From Wick (35 miles) take the A9 south passing through all coastal communities until arriving at Helmsdale, turn left at Bannockburn Inn onto main street through village travel onto the end of this street and take a right by the Bridge Hotel.  Sutherland Street is 2nd turn on the right after that. Valhalla Holiday Home is 2nd house on left.

Bus - Citylink Stagecoach provide a regular service from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth & Inverness through all en route coastal communities to Helmsdale. A complete schedule can be found here.  

Rail - The nearest train station to Valhalla is Helmsdale, and is within walking distance of the house. Trainroutes and connections can be found here.  

Travel Conditions - weather information can be found here

Find us on Instagram on #valhallaholidayhome