This was constructed in 1812 at Bonar Bridge to the elegant and masterly design of the engineer Thomas Telford. This new crossing point opened up the area around the Kyle of Sutherland and the inner Dornoch Firth.

It also facilitated the droving of cattle from all over the North towards the great market of the Muir of Ord.

Unfortunately, the great flood of January 1892 swept away Telford's fine iron bridge and it was replaced the following year. The second bridge survived into the 1970s when the third bridge was constructed. In 1974 the bridge was given one of the Structural Steel Awards and described as an "elegant major structure which, although visible from a distance, does not overwhelm its immediate environment".

The village of Bonar Bridge grew up at Telford's bridging point where previously there had been a small ferry and ford for cattle where the Kyle of Sutherland narrowed against the splendid delta of the River Carron. The village, with its picturesque setting on the kyle, has been a busy tourist spot where roads lead towards the west and north coasts of Sutherland.

Across the Carron delta from Bonar Bridge is the tiny village of Ardgay with its white stone of Kincardine, an ice-transported chunk of rock which marked the site where markets were held until the beginning of the 20th century.

From Ardgay the railway line takes a large loop inland towards Lairg instead of following the coastal plain, thus taking the route favoured by the Duke of Sutherland.

Edderton is a small settlement which has seen habitation since early times, judging by the many cist burials found there along with two inscribed stones. The older of these has one of its faces decorated with a fish, a double disc and a Z rod. The class III stone, sometimes referred to as the Crusader's Stone, is in the churchyard at the south-east end of the village. One side depicts a cross under which is a horseman. The other side is occupied by a large cross with a ring connecting the arms. A cross carved on both faces of a stone is most unusual. A continuity of occupation of the Edderton area is suggested by the old church, dated to the 18th century.

The diverse landscape features of this area of Sutherland can be seen from the outstanding viewpoint of Struie, located at the south-western end of a fault in the rocks. From struie on a clear day there are sweeping horizons to Ben More Assynt (30 miles), Ben Klibreck (28 miles), Ben Horn (16 miles) and Beinn a' Bhragaidh (14 miles) with detailed views along the Dornoch Firth and the Kyle of Sutherland.

The lands around the long funnel of the Dornoch Firth have been settled since prehistoric times.

An outstanding find of Bronze-Age metalwork was made at the west end of Loch Migdale when a remarkable assortment of armlets, beads, earrings, buttons and bronze sheets was uncovered. Later, an axe was found after rock-blasting operations.

The earliest known domestic dwellings around the Dornoch Firth, as elsewhere in the North of Scotland, are the dwellings collectively known as hut circles.

One of the oldest defensive monuments could be Dun Creich, a vitrified fort occupying a magnificent site on a promontory in the Dornoch Firth.

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