Day 55: Embo, Sutherland to Whaligoe Geo, Caithness

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

28th February 2021: 102.43km walked today taking the total to 5706.90/8868km. 12.5% of 101 entries submitting 819.146km.

From Embo Beach we walk the coastline through Golspie, Brora and Helmsdale, learning of it’s rich coastal history en route, as we make our way north towards Wick.

Route 17: Inverness to Scrabster NC500+ Part 1

We walk along Embo Beach and Coul Links, enjoying views to Ben Bhraggie and the Dornoch Firth, to reach the entrance of Loch Fleet taking us inland again. The word links has been mentioned a lot recently; what are they? Naturally occurring, undulating strips of land, comprising sand, grass and often gorse, that lie between the beach and farmable land. These areas emerged as the first basic golf courses, as folks experimented with the stick and ball game during the 15-16th centuries. The Coul Links has recently escaped planning consent to be developed into another links golf course; it is to be retained as an important habitat for wildlife. We walk over the links with care to join a coastal path on the Loch’s southern shore, where we see the old pier pilings and the fishing boat skeletons, I mentioned earlier, poking up through the sand.

Looking across the water, we see Littleferry on the Loch’s north shore. For centuries people used the ferry to get across the tidal basin, avoiding the walk around the shore to cross the River Fleet. This continued until Thomas Telford built the Mound Causeway in 1814-1818 to hold the new road heading north. It still allowed the River Fleet to flow into the tidal basin, as a gap was left; it took time to complete though, as there were issues bridging that gap. Historically, there was the Battle of Littleferry in 1746, just before the Battle of Culloden. 500 Jacobite soldiers, on their way south after an attack on Dunrobin Castle, were attacked by pro-Government clansmen. The men were either killed, taken prisoner or drowned trying to escape; it is said that this devastating loss of men possibly altered the outcome of the Battle of Culloden.

As we make our way back onto the A9 to cross the causeway we pass a ruin on the hill. Skelbo Castle is a Norman fortress dating back to the 14th century, although structures have been on this site since the 1130s. Robert the Bruce attacked here in 1308 leading to the castle being rebuilt. It remained a residence until 1715 when it was confiscated from its owner, Eric Sutherland, a Jacobite supporter, then went into decline. In 1996, it was purchased by a Russian billionaire, Mikhail de Buar, so he could gain the title of ‘Baron’. He died intestate some years ago and the castle is caught up in major scandal and litigation in Russia. He never took care of the structure and Historic Environment Scotland had to intervene to stabilize it. It remains a dangerous ruin today.

As we cross the causeway, we see Loch Fleet in all its glory, a National Nature Reserve with its tidal basin containing a diverse number of habitats, including sands, mudflats, salt marshes and dunes. The Reserve also includes Balblair and Ferry Woods on the north shore; Scots pinewood planted in 1781-1823 and the 1960s, respectively. The causeway has built-in sluice gates which allow the waters and fish to move between the 2 sections of the Loch; however, the structure has meant that the Loch’s head is shorter than it was. Once across we take a right onto a minor road leading us through Balblair Wood, a refuge for deer and pine marten, then across the Calmaily Burn onto a Firth shore road passing Golspie Links as we head into the village of Golspie itself.

Golspie sits on the Dornoch Firth dominated by Ben Bhraggie, ‘Beinn a' Bhragaidh’, (397m) at whose peak stands the statue of the first Duke of Sutherland, a large player in the Highland Clearances, so the statue remains a subject of controversy to this date. The village name comes from Norse, meaning ‘gully village’, and what we see today is from plans for development which began in 1805 through the Earl of Sutherland and his wife, later to be called the Duke of Sutherland. The plans included the addition of the harbour and a schoolhouse, but during this time they were also making ‘agricultural improvements’; forcing tacksmen (tenants) off the land to graze sheep which was more profitable. These changes altered the northern Highland landscape forever, as the improvements are what we call the Highland Clearances today. We follow our route to take a 4-kilometre walk through the Golspie Gorge (gully) to visit Big Burn and its waterfall; it’s an easy walk, crossing a sequence of timber bridges through the gorge to visit the falls, before retracing our steps back to the coastal path to Dunrobin Castle.

We see Dunrobin Castle sitting prominently on the skyline as we approach. At the remains of a pier, we follow the garden walls inland to the castle entrance courtyard. There is no doubt, whether it is approached from the land or from the sea, that the castle is an impressive structure with a fairy tale quality. It sits on the edge of a ridge set back from the Firth, with formal gardens to the shore side. Its story began in 1210 when King Malcolm III granted lands to a knight of Flemish descent. The castle is first mentioned in 1410 and, what we see today is the result of several extensions and renovations, with the oldest part still standing dating to the 1300s. The name Dun Robin means ‘Robin's Hill or Fort’ in Gaelic and is thought to have been named after one of the Earls. By the mid-1800s it was the largest estate in Europe, the landowner having been granted the title of Duke of Sutherland in 1833. In more recent times, it was a naval hospital during World War 1; a fire occurred at this time and repairs were overseen by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1921. It remains the seat of Clan Sutherland today and is open to the public during the summer months. Many coach tours make this visit, the castle often doing pre-opening tours to fit everyone in!

After taking the castle tour, we wander down the steps to visit the formal garden terrace, then head straight down the path through the wrought iron gates back onto the coastal path. Before we move on, we experience the fabulous falconry display, held in the gardens daily, and visit the Castle Museum, which occupies the old summer house. From 1762 trophies and ‘objects’ brought back from abroad, as well as other local findings, were gathered here. One needs to remember on walking through the door that the world view of hunting for sport has greatly changed, given the amount of taxidermy and hunting trophies on exhibit! Aside from that, it's an impressive collection.

After leaving the garden area, we follow the path through Dunrobin Wood and along the coast to Carn Liath Broch, still within view of the Castle itself. Its impressive remains occupy a terrace overlooking the coast, having stood here since 300 BC – 200 AD. The 3rd Duke of Sutherland was first to excavate the site in 1863; there have been further explorations since and evidence of a settlement around the broch has been discovered. We continue along the shore, taking a varied 5-kilometre route north on beach, dunes, and grass path to arrive in Brora. This stretch of the walk is part of the John O’Groats Trail, and we will walk a few other sections of it as we head north along the coast. The trail is still a work in progress, difficult terrain in parts, but a nicer route than the A9.

As we wander Scotland it never ceases to amaze me the big parts these small places played in the country’s history; Brora is one such place. Its name is Norse, like many others, meaning ‘river with a bridge’, as the village grew up around one. A bridge has certainly been here for many centuries, with the documenting of repairs to one in 1619; the bridge was replaced in 1929. Historically, Brora started life as a fishing village, but by 1529 was engaged in open cast coal mining. With the development of a better shaft mine in 1598 salt panning began: a process of evaporating salt from the seawater by heating large pans over coal fires. A new harbour was built in 1820, but they never really took advantage of the herring fishing boom, concentrating instead on salt for curing the fish.

Other industries included production of whisky, bricks, tile and stone; a brickworks was opened in 1818, a distillery in 1821, and the quarried Clynelish white sandstone was exported to build the likes of London Bridge, Liverpool Cathedral and Dunrobin Castle. Cheaper competition in the south saw a decline in their coal, salt, and brick production by 1825, then with the arrival of the railway in the 1870s the harbour no longer exported coal.

In the 20th century, Brora was still thriving on fishing, coal mining, distilling and woollen textile production (Hunters of Brora). Thanks to the latter, in 1913 Brora was the first place north of Inverness to get electricity; it was nicknamed ‘Electric City’. The coal mining continued until 1974, by which time the mine in use was the oldest in Europe. Unfortunately, the textile mill closed in 2003, so Brora relies mainly upon the distillery, tourism and its small fishing fleet today. Such a lot going on for such a small place and there’s more!

As we walk into Brora along the coast, the first place we come to is the Government Listening Centre. It isn’t anything to look at but that was possibly done on purpose! The ‘Brora Y Station’ operated between 1940 and 1986, and tracked and intercepted wireless communications during World War 2, then sent coded documents on to Bletchley Park for analysis. The station remained after the war, monitoring the Cold War situation, before closing its doors in 1986; there are currently plans to convert the building into self-catering accommodation. From here, we wander through the village lanes and cross the bridge to continue our journey north.

Due to the coastal railway line, we now walk 20.5 kilometres along the beaches at low tide, beside the train tracks carefully at times, through overgrown vegetation and grasses, as well as wade the Loth Burn, at Lothbeg (fortunately not in spate otherwise we’d have to find our way back to the A9!). We follow our route up through Portgower (a village created by the Duke of Sutherland for cleared families) to continue along minor farm roads into Helmsdale. We are still on the John O’Groats Trail, difficult going at times, but we make it in one piece!

We arrive in Helmsdale at Couper Park, the site of Helmsdale Castle. Its ruins were demolished in the 1970s to construct a new bridge for the A9 as the bridge built in 1811 by Thomas Telford crossed further upstream. A Roman historian wrote of this place, speaking of tall, red-headed men who fought bravely with long swords and round shields. There were a few battles fought here at the time of the Vikings. Helmsdale means ‘dale of the helmet’, coming from the Norse word ‘Hjalmundal’. Its claim to fame is inspiring Shakespeare to write ‘Hamlet’, whose story is based on a happening at the castle in 1567. Isobel Sinclair, who tried to divert succession for the title of Earl of Sutherland from her nephew directly to her son, invited her nephew, his wife and son to dinner. She had planned to poison her guests, but her plan backfired when her own son drank the poison along with them!

As we pass the park, we see a monument on the riverside, the Emigrants Statue, sculpted by Gerald Laing and unveiled in 2007. It commemorates the huge numbers of people evicted from their ancestral homes at the time of the Clearances. The plaque was written by Dennis Macleod, who was born in Helmsdale, and he commissioned the sculpture. As we walk Scotland we have seen and will continue to see the Clearances’ devastating impact. The plaque reads;

’The Emigrants commemorates the people of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland who, in the face of great adversity, sought freedom, hope and justice beyond these shores. They and their descendants went forth and explored continents, built great countries and cities and gave their enterprise and culture to the world. This is their legacy. Their voices will echo forever thro the empty straths and glens of their homeland.’

Passing over the bridge we see the harbour, another built in the redevelopment of the village in 1814 to resettle the communities from the clearances. The harbour held over 200 boats during the herring boom; today a small fishing fleet remain along with a few leisure craft. Along the north bank of the river is the award-winning Timespan Heritage Centre which contains a lot of interesting facts from the area, including the last wolf to be shot in the vicinity in 1700. They also have exhibits relating to the Sutherland Gold Rush, which took place in 1869 after Robert Gilchrist, having returned from the Australian Gold Rush in 1868, found gold in the Helmsdale River. The gold rush only lasted a year, but hundreds flocked to try and find their fortune. You can still pan for gold at the Kildonan Burn 16 kilometres northwest of Helmsdale at Baille an Or, ‘place of gold’; small amounts are still found to this day - where did I put my pan?

The John O’Groats Trail is still being developed here and is hardly passable at points. Therefore, the next stretch to Berriedale must be walked along the A9 grass verge, taking great care as it is the main road north and is terribly busy. After 9 kilometres we reach Badbea Clearance Village, 4 kilometres south of Berriedale, now in the Caithness area. Perched on steep, windswept slopes, people cleared from their land tried to make a life here, along with others who had already settled. It was a harsh and treacherous place to eke out a living of crofting, fishing, and illegal distilling. Unbelievably, the last resident left in 1911, after which his grandson erected the monument we see today in memory of the Badbea people, using the stones from his grandfathers’ home. Little remains of the village, mostly dry stone foundation walls frequented by sheep, another haunting reminder of the hardships of the Clearances.

Just a short walk takes us into Berriedale, famous for its twisted and difficult Berriedale Braes that lead us northward. Despite improvements in recent years, it remains a dangerous road and is currently undergoing further changes which will hopefully resolve the issue. It is characterised by a steep descent to a sharp corner, which when through, begins an immediate steep ascent to a hairpin bend at the top! Given that the road is busy, it is an accident blackspot. Most people spend so much time negotiating the road that they are unaware of the tiny village nestled on the shore at the end of a valley where Berriedale and Langwell Waters meet the sea. On the north bank of the river mouth are fisher cottages and to the south a rocky outcrop which once held Berriedale Castle, an active castle in the 14th century.

There is no safe path again from Berriedale to Dunbeath, the next major village on our route, so we take to the grass verges once more, taking great care for the next 9 kilometres. We pass through several settlement areas and, as we walk, there are fantastic views across the Moray Firth; wherever you are on this coastline you are never short of a beautiful panorama. Dunbeath sits on the Dunbeath River and, as we pass through, an impressive white castle sits in a spectacular clifftop position. Dunbeath Castle has stood here since the 15th century, the property of Clan Sinclair until 1945. It went through many changes to be what it is today and is still a private residence.

The strath, or river valley, on which Dunbeath sits, is rich with archaeology including Iron Age brochs and an early monastic site. A sleepy place today, it was expanded in the early 1800s to take advantage of the herring boom and there were over 100 boats which operated out of the harbour. A Heritage Centre in the village brings to life the works of Neil M Gunn, a Scottish author, nationalist and socialist, who was born here in 1891. His works include ‘The Silver Darling’ and ‘Highland River’. On the riverside is a statue titled ‘Kenn and Salmon’, a character from ‘Highland River’, erected in 1991 in celebration of the author’s life.

There is yet more difficult coastline along the next 11-kilometre section to Lybster, so we continue along the A9, then turn onto the A99 at Latheron, to continue our journey north. More beautiful cliff top views as we walk through settlement areas including Latheronwheel, Latheron and Forse to arrive in Lybster. There are a few little titbits to share about the places along the way.

Latheronwheel was developed on Captain Dunbar’s land in the 1830s. He asked for the village to be called Janetstown after his wife but that didn’t happen, although there is an area nearby with the name. He built a stone bridge over the burn, which was welcomed by the locals and travellers heading north, as well as a harbour completed in the 1840s. There is a Fairy Glen walk along the Latheronwheel Burn where volunteers, caring for the walk, have added little ‘fairy touches’ along the way to spark the imagination of child and adult alike. At Latheron, we find the 5000-year-old Buldoo Standing Stone on the A9 route to Thurso, standing an impressive 3.9 metres tall with a diameter at its base of 3.7 metres; there are a number of other stones in the area. We pass the Clan Gunn Museum and Heritage Centre located on the A99. Set in an old church it tells of its clan role in the 1745 uprisings and about the effects of the Highland Clearances.

We reach Lybster, ‘Liabost’ in Gaelic, another fishing village developed by General Patrick Sinclair and his sons in 1802. It was built to benefit from the herring boom and had 357 registered boats at its peak, the third busiest harbour in Scotland. The village main street has an unusual name, ‘Quatre Bras’, named in honour of the General’s sons who fought at the Battle of Waterloo. The Sinclairs of Lybster go back centuries in this area, tracing their family heritage to the Norwegian earls. The General is remembered for overseeing the development of Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, Michigan; Mackinac Island is Lybster’s sister city as a result. We pay a visit to the harbour, as it has quite a striking appearance, and grab a bite at the Waterline Heritage Museum Cafe where we learn of Lybster’s past. ‘Silver Darlings' (1941) was filmed here and there was also a location shoot for Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ series in 2019.

We continue on the A99 for 9 kilometres because the cliff tops and inlets are too many to negotiate easily. We pass through Occumster, Blackness, Mid Clyth, East Clyth, and Bruan, to stop at Whaligoe. There is the stunning scenery of the cliffs and sea stacks as we do so, including Clythness Lighthouse built in 1916 for wartime purposes and now decommissioned. Passing Mid Clyth we leave the road to visit briefly to visit the Hill O’Many Stanes, a Bronze Age relic of 200 upright stones sitting on rocky knoll positioned in a fan-shaped pattern. It is believed they were for either gatherings or religious ceremonies but, in reality, they are quite a mystery. Whoever placed them there spent time, effort and thought in doing so. Right across the region stones, brochs and burial cairns abound; we pass so many, some discernible, others not.

We return to the road and press on to Whaligoe, a tiny village famous for Whaligoe Steps, which take you down into one of the most inaccessible harbours! Whaligoe Geo (or inlet) is surrounded by 250-foot cliffs on 3 sides which creates an amazing natural harbour. There wasn't a lot of scope for harbours on this stretch of the coast, so it was from need that residents were forced to make use of it. Captain David Brodie of Hopeville paid to have proper steps cut for the harbour to continue in good use after Thomas Telford refused to do anything with it in 1786. 24 vessels worked from here at its height and women carried creels of fish up from the harbour to sell at market. The last fishing boat stopped using the harbour in the 1960s.

We leave the road passing a row of fisher cottages to where the steps begin. Those with no head for heights stay at the top; the 330 steps are steep and zigzag down the cliff face, with a low stone wall to the seaward side! Those who venture down are treated to wildflowers and seabirds who provide a great distraction. We reach a plateau of grass called the Bink where boats would have been beached and goods unloaded. There is also a ruined salt store and remains of a barking kettle for heating tar on the plateau. Just round from the Bink, a waterfall cascades down the north cliff face. Further steps take us to the Neist, a rocky shelf at the bottom of the Geo. There is a feeling of great exposure here and one can imagine the harsh environment it must have been to work the boats here. The steps are maintained by volunteers for visitors to enjoy; they have won ‘Shell Best of Britain’ twice. We work our way back up the steps, appreciative that we have nothing to carry but ourselves, for a quick refreshment at the cafe before joining the A99 again.

After a short distance, we leave the A99 again and make our way down to the clifftops. Waymarkers for the 17-kilometre John O’Groats Walk are in place for this section, but we still need to take great care as the entire walk is over open cliff tops and the ground can be quite tussocky. We wander through large and small farms to reach Loch Sarclet.