Parking improvements at Assynt's Ardvreck Castle

A project has begun to improve parking facilities and road safety at the site of one of Sutherland's most famous castles.

Ardvreck Castle, next to Loch Assynt, is on the popular North Coast 500 route and it attracts thousands of visitors a year.

The site's car park struggles to cope with increased visitor numbers and this has led to cars being left in potentially dangerous locations on the roadside.

Highland Council is spending £318,000 on improvements with the funding coming from the Scottish government and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Economy and infrastructure committee chairman Ken Gowans said he was delighted the area around the castle will be upgraded.

He said: "We will be able to improve the parking bays, add cycle tracks, have better signage and generally tidy up the area and enhance the visitor offering."

Last November, damage was caused to the 500-year-old ruined castle after a visitor used part of a wall to make stepping stones across a large puddle.

Historic Assynt, which helps to look after the former seat of clan MacLeod of Assynt, said it had only recently been able to repair the wall after it was damaged a few months earlier.

A spokesperson for the charity said at the time: "Advice to visitors is the usual - leave only footprints."