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Two mountains dominate the eastern skirts of the county of Sutherland: Ben Griam Mor (1,935ft), towering over the Garvault Hotel, the remotest hotel on Mainland Britain, and Ben Griam Beg (1,900ft) which is crowned by the highest Pictish hill fort in Scotland.

A single-track road from Kinbrace in Strath Helmsdale to Syre in Strathnaver winds through this wild land, the southern edge of the Flow Country; peat moorlands speckled blue and silver with interdependent lochs and lochans, largely unchanged since the end of the last Ice Age.

Although insensitive commercial forestry damaged areas of the Flow Country during the 1980's, much has been preserved. To explore the flows, call at the excellent Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Forsinard Visitor Centre in Strath Halladale.

In the early years of the 19th century, Patrick Sellers, agent to Elizabeth, Countess Duchess of Sutherland, passed this way with sheriff officers and magistrates to begin the eviction of Elizabeth's Strathnaver tenants. 2,000 people were cleared from their homes to make way for sheep.

Before you cross the River Naver, turn south along a forest track. This leads to the remains of the village of Rossal, one of the townships that Sellers burned. Follow the guided walk round the ruined buildings. Listen for the lingering echo of children's laughter amongst the old stones.