Thurso feels to me like a kind of Scotchland Worksop, in that you see it on all the motorway signposts and maps and shit, but in reality it's just a main road to somewhere else with a B&Q Distribution Centre, Chef & Brewer / Wacky Warehouse and a fair to medium sized Sainsbury's.
That said, I've never been so it's probably some sort of massive metropolitan hub of commerce and culture.