Day 56: Whaligoe Geo to Scrabster, Caithness

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

1st March 2021: 97.79km walked today taking the total to 5804.69/8868km. 10% of 127 entries submitting 977.88km.

Today we walk through Wick, up to John O’Groats before visiting Dunnet Head, Thurso and ending at Scrabster.

Route 17: Inverness to Scrabster NC500+ Part 1

We continue along the coast past Loch Sarclet to pass a fascinating hole in the cliff face with a view down into the sea. It is located on Sarclet Head and has been here many years, known to locals as the Hole O' Troupa. We don't go near the hole, as it has a saucer-shaped entrance so you can easily fall through, and a man fell to his death in recent years; instead we throw stones into the hole and listen for how long it takes to drop to the water below.

Just along from the ‘hole’ is Sarclet Haven, where another natural harbour is found on a sloping beach between two cliffs. It was developed, along with the village, by Captain David Brodie as a herring port in the early 1800s. The ruined building would have been used to store tackle and salt. We look out for seals as they like the area.

From Sarclet we continue to follow the rough coastline path where there are some beautiful geological features such as geos and stacks to reach Ashy Geo. Ashy Geo is the most famous, where we get the best land view on the southern approach. We continue from here on boggy ground around Helman Head then Girston Bay, zigzagging along the coast skirting long narrow geos to pass Stack O’Brough. We enter the kissing gate, at the entrance of the Castle of Old Wick, to explore its ruins before taking the path to the castle car park.

The 12th-century castle, one of Scotland's earliest, was built during Norse rule on a promontory giving it great natural defences and saw many changes of ownership throughout the centuries. In 1604 it was sold for the final time to George Sinclair who already owned Girnigoe Castle in Wick. It fell into disuse and was no longer used as a residence by the 1700s and is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. It sits within a Military Defence Firing Range, so if red flags are flying at the entrances, you must not visit the area.

From the castle, we head along Trinkie Road, where a tidal seawater swimming pool, called The Trinkie, was once in use. It was a popular gathering place for the Caithness locals but has been badly damaged in recent years. Fundraisers are trying to get the pool restored for use once more. We follow the quarry path around the shore descending into the Wick Harbour area.

Wick sits on Wick Bay straddling a river of the same name looking out to the Moray Firth. As with other places, activity began in the Iron Age and after the Norse invaded Wick, as with the whole of Caithness, it belonged to Norway. Wick comes from Norse, ‘vik’ meaning bay. There were a number of clans active in the area but the largest were the Sinclairs, Sutherlands, and Keiths. The last clan battle in Scotland took place here in 1680 between the Campbells of Glenorchy and the Sinclairs over the earldom of Caithness. Ebenezer Place in the town is the smallest street in the world, measuring 2.06 metres, and made the Guinness Book of Records in 2006.

The south side of Wick was once a separate town called Pulteneytown which became part of Wick itself in 1902. The town was developed by the British Fisheries Society in 1808, to cope with the influx of displaced people being cleared from the estates and now seeking employment in the fishing industry. With the expansion of Wick Harbour to meet the demands of the herring boom, this development was very much needed. The new harbour was designed by Thomas Telford and constructed between 1803 and 1811; it contained 3 harbours called the outer, inner and river harbour. The town was developed in 2 sections, the Upper Pulteney for residential and Lower Pulteney for industry. At the height of the herring boom in the 1860s, there were over 1100 boats operating from Wick Harbour and over 650 coopers to support them. The Old Pulteney Distillery was established in 1826, the most northerly distillery on the mainland, and still produces single malt whisky today. Just before we cross the Harbour Bridge into Wick’s centre, we pass the Wick Heritage Museum, which tells the history of the herring boom and local history in photographs dating from 1863-1975. The Inner Harbour is used as a marina today whilst the other harbours are used as a base for North Sea oil offshore supply vessels and for fishing, still an active industry here, though much smaller.

Having crossed the bridge, we head out of Wick through Broadhaven, passing through the village of Papigoe to reach Staxigoe, another small fishing village. It is just interesting to note that this is the place where fishing was based before the arrival of Wick Harbour, a natural haven on a sloping shingle beach. We follow the road through Staxigoe where we join a rough path along the rugged coastline, negotiating more geos and enjoying more small sea stack views.

As we walk in the distance the lighthouse appears at Noss Head, built by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1869. We follow our route which takes us to Castle Sinclair Girnigoe ruins and, as we progress, we can see Wick Airport where flights started in 1933 from a grass airstrip. With the start of World War 2, it became an RAF base so the runways were upgraded enabling flights for reconnaissance, submarine patrols, escorts, as well as Scapa Flow defence and strikes on enemy positions in Norway and its waters, so it had an important role. As a result, it was subjected to air attacks, and in July 1940, the first daytime attack in the UK took place here.

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is actually 2 castles standing side by side. Castle Girnigoe was built in the late 1400s by the 2nd Earl of Caithness, William Sinclair, one of the earliest seats of Clan Sinclair. In 1606 Castle Sinclair was built and the other castle connected to it over a ravine via a drawbridge. The 5th Earl requested a name change but both names were always written down, so it became Castle Sinclair Girnigoe. In 1672 trouble began, as the 6th Earl was in debt to his 4th cousin, John Campbell of Glenorchy, so gave him the castle as payment. The Earl died shortly after with no heir, so Campbell claimed his title and took his widow as his wife. The 6th Earl’s 1st cousin challenged this and attacked Girnigoe Castle in 1680, destroying a lot of the structure. Campbell retaliated and went into battle, which he won. The matter was settled by the Privy Council in 1681, returning the title to the Sinclairs and allowing Campbell to keep the land. The castle was irreparably damaged, so it was never lived in again. Clan Sinclair Trust cares for the castle, preserving what remains for future generations. They hope to add a Visitor Centre when funds permit.

We continue along a rather overgrown clifftop walk with great views of Sinclair Bay and Ackergill Tower in the distance. We reach the tiny village of Ackergillshore, whose old lifeboat house, built in 1878, is the earliest in the Highlands with original RNLI roundels depicting a crew in sou'westers pulling at the oars of a lifeboat. The slipway was constructed on the shore to aid the launch of a bigger boat in 1910 but the house closed in 1932.

From the village, there is a lovely view of Ackergill Tower, an impressive tower house dating back to the early 16th century, then extended in the 18th century. This was Clan Keith land though the Sinclairs tried a few times over the centuries to seize it. The feud is thought to have been started when John Keith abducted Helen Gunn for her beauty and held her in the tower. She either fell or flung herself to her death whilst in captivity, resulting in the feud between the 2 clans; her ghost is said to be seen around the castle. The Sinclairs acquired the castle legally in 1612, then lost it to Clan Gordon, and later returned! In 1651, Oliver Cromwell was said to use it as a garrison during his hunt for the Honours of Scotland (Crown Jewels). Clan Campbell was given the castle to pay for the current Sinclair debts and they sold it in 1699 to St William Dunbar of Hempriggs who carried out extensive renovations. It stayed within the family until 1986, when it was sold to become a hotel and remained so until it was sold to Dr Betsee Parker, US minister and philanthropist, in 2018 who has since returned it to a private residence.

We now take the minor road back to the A99, to walk along its verge again for the next 9 kilometres. Though there is a lovely sand beach walk in one part, there are a few obstacles, the largest being River Wester, which is most often difficult to cross and often impassable. So, we follow the road, passing Loch Wester from which the River Wester flows, to turn right and head down to the Keiss Harbour and pick up the safer John O’Groats Trail again from there.

Keiss Harbour was another constructed in 1831 for the herring industry. A quiet place today it would have been a bustling fishing station in its heyday. Fishing is still done from here and the harbour house is a holiday home with fantastic views out to Sinclair Bay and Keiss Castle’s ruins along the coast. Leaving the harbour, we follow the trail past World War 2 remains to arrive at the castle ruins, which sit on a sheer clifftop on the bay. It was built on a previous fort in the early 1600s by the Sinclairs but by 1700 was in a poor state. By 1755 Keiss House, which we see further inland, had replaced it. We continue along the cliff tops for a time, through gates, over stiles and fences, as we pass several geos to reach Nybster Broch. It was excavated in 1900 by a Sir Francis Tress Barry and the monument to Sir Barry, Mervyn Tower, stands behind it. The Iron Age broch has evidence of use by the Picts between 300-800 AD and the nearby Caithness Broch Centre, in Auckengill, tells you more about the brochs and their history in Scotland.

A proper path now directs us to the nearby car park, but we continue on the seaward side of the fence following the trail past more farms and geos to Bucholly or Bucholie Castle remains, perched on a rocky promontory. A Norse pirate and raider called Svein, whose brother is an ancestor of Clan Gunn, built a fort here in 1162 called Lambaborg. He abandoned the fort when he was besieged by Earl Rognavard (builder of St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney). Svein was let down by basket into the sea to swim ashore and escape. The Mowat family were granted the land during the reign of Robert the Bruce and built the present castle on the site; it remained in the family until 1661 when it fell into disrepair and was abandoned. It's an impressive sight but we don't venture too close as the area is extremely dangerous.

We negotiate more fences and stiles as the cliffs lessen in height (just for a short time though) to reach Freswick Mains, and another castle of the same name. Freswick Castle sits on the Burn of Freswick on a bay of the same name which contains both sand and rock beach. The castle’s life began at the time of Robert the Bruce, and the predominant owners over the centuries have been the Mowats and the Sinclairs. Now known as Freswick House, due to extensions added in the 18th century, it remained in the Sinclair family until the 20th century, when they had to sell due to the financial drain of its upkeep. It is owned today by Murray Watts, film animator, producer, and founder of The Wayfarer Trust.

We use the bridge at the front of the Castle to cross the burn, which is in spate, to proceed north on Freswick Bay Beach. At the far end, we find large man-made blocks lined up along the tideline; these are anti-tank traps called dragon’s teeth left over from World War 2 defences. We join the minor road just behind them, turning right at the end to continue along Skirza Head - we are just 7 kilometres away from John O’Groats now. The cliffs begin to rise once more, and the path becomes tussocky and convoluted as we negotiate geos to make progress. The paths always lead on the seaward side of any fences, so care must be taken at all times. The trail becomes boggy for a time before an actual faint path can be seen running along the cliff edge. There are a number of streams running off the cliffs in this area, making the path boggy again in places, so we keep away from the edge! 

Finally, we reach Wife Geo, the first major cliff feature for a while, comprising a stack and arches. We follow the faint path northwards through gaps in fences, then Duncansby Stacks come into view first, followed by the lighthouse at Duncansby Head. The path greatly improves here, probably due to increased foot traffic, and the area is alive with nesting seabirds and we can certainly smell the fact! The view of the stacks, and natural arch behind it, are impressive and we stop to take photos of our achievement getting here!

Skirting the coast, constantly turning to view the stacks from every angle, we follow the path along the fence, head downhill to cross a plank bridge and follow the wide path right to view the stacks for one last time at the Geo of Sclaites. The geo is a precipitous gully gouged out of the cliff, the sight of which is enhanced by the clusters of pink thrift flowers clinging to its edges. We take the path down now to the Duncansby Head Lighthouse, built by David Stevenson in 1924, now automated. It marks the most north-easterly point on the British mainland. We are yet again stunned by the view stretching out northwest over the Pentland Firth to Orkney, to the west John O’Groats, the Isle of Stroma and Dunnet Head, then to the southeast the Moray Firth.

We follow the road down the hill, but fork right to pass by The Glupe, a large blowhole and natural arch feature, keeping well back from the edge. We continue down into the Bay of Sannick, then cross the Burn of Sannick to wander around the bay, the path being mainly short grass underfoot and not too boggy. This continues around the Ness of Duncansby and Roberts Haven. At Ness of Duncansby, we stop for a time and watch the sea; we are now on the Pentland Firth which is the area of water between the mainland and the Orkney Islands. After Robert’s Haven, we descend on a sand path by a pebbly beach which then rises again to the John O’Groats Harbour and the famous white signpost, used by many starting or finishing their Land’s End to John O’Groats distance challenges.

John O’Groats was founded in 1496 by a Dutchman, Jan de Groot, when he was granted permission from King James IV to operate a ferry service to the Orkney Islands after the Islands were acquired from Norway. The place has become popular over the years with the ‘Lands’ End to John O’Groats’ Challenges, where people walk or cycle for charity fundraisers from the most south-westerly inhabited place on the mainland, Land’s End, Cornwall, to the most north-easterly on the mainland, here. As a result, tourism has become a big way of life and is the mainstay of employment. 

The Journey’s End signpost is a landmark; this is not the original post which was erected on a piece of land purchased by a Penzance-based photography firm in 1964. Until 2013, when the hotel on the seafront was redeveloped, you had to pay to have your photo taken next to it and the signs could be altered to say a name or a statement. We are taking our photos here today free of charge against the new fixed signage post, covered in stickers from visitors who have passed through, leaving their ‘mark’, but please don't swing on the signage as the arms can snap off.

2013 saw the reopening of a tasteful redevelopment of the old John O’Groats Hotel, which was constructed in 1875 on or near to where Jan de Groot’s house was built. The Harbour runs a summertime ferry service for foot passengers, on the Pentland Venture, to Burwick, South Ronaldsay and wildlife spotting boat trips are also available. Despite Stroma being only 2 kilometres from shore, there are no scheduled trips to the island as it is privately owned by a previous occupant, who uses the island to graze his sheep. It was occupied from prehistoric times right through to 1962 when the last residents left the island for good. Conditions were extremely basic compared to the improvements being made to living standards on the mainland, and it was literally difficult to survive there, so the residents relocated. The houses, school and church stand abandoned, gradually being reclaimed by nature. Everyday objects still sit in the ruins, haunting reminders of a life long since gone. The only functioning thing on the island today is the lighthouse built in 1890, now also automated.

We move on along the coast, following the A836 to the Castle of Mey, 10 kilometres to the west, passing through Canisbay and East Mey. The Castle of Mey is well known for being a favourite retreat of the Queen Mother after the death of her husband, King George VI. It was built between 1566-72 by the Sinclair family and would become the seat for the Earls of Sinclair. Under their ownership, it was extended, renovated and renamed Barrogill Castle. It was passed to a family friend in 1889, whose widow sold it to Captain Imbert-Terry in 1929. During the war, it was used as an officer’s rest home and in 1950 its farms were sold off. By that time, the tower was the only inhabitable part.

In 1952, after the death of King George VI, the Queen Mother travelled to the area to stay with friends, and it was while walking the beach she came across the castle. She purchased it from the Captain that year and set about restoring the building for use as a holiday home, taking until 1960 to fully restore the west wing. The Queen Mother visited every August and October from 1955 until her death in 2002. She had set up the Castle of Mey Trust in 1996 with Prince Charles as President. In 2002, the Castle was opened to the public to generate income for the property; The Castle of Mey Trust then became part of The Prince's Foundation in 2019. Netflix ‘The Crown’ series shot on location here. We spend time in the gardens enjoying the Pentland Firth view before continuing on our journey.

We leave the castle by way of a shore road called Braes of Harrow following it through the settlements of Harrow and Scarfskerry, passing Loch of Mey as we do so. In the distance, we can see our next destination, Dunnet Head. We continue along roads nearest the shore, arriving at Ham where there is a disused girnal (grain store) and corn mill standing next to a millpond. The girnal was constructed in the early 18th century, the corn mill and kiln added in the 19th century. It ceased use in the early 20th century and is now very vulnerable; the building is a rare example of its type in Scotland.

We walk a little further towards the settlement of Brough where we take a right onto the road, passing rocky bays and sea stacks, leading to Dunnet Head. We wind our way through the centre of the peninsula with beautiful views all around, passing a number of small lochs before arriving at Dunnet Head itself. Dunnet Head Lighthouse sits on the edge of a cliff which drops 300 feet into the Pentland Firth, built by Robert Stevenson in 1831 and automated in 1989. The Queen Mother enjoyed visiting this lighthouse and was given tours by the keeper followed by tea with his family. It is the most northerly point on mainland Britain, another place where you feel you are at the edge of the world. You can see right over to the Orkney Islands, to Duncansby Head in the east and to Cape Wrath in the west. Ascending the Easter Head viewpoint behind the lighthouse, we find the remains of the Dunnet Head World War 2 radar station, established to identify surface and submarine vessels in the surrounding waters. As its the highest point it gives us yet another great view back across the peninsula as well as out to sea. The area is also abundant with birdlife so great for birdwatchers.

We retrace our steps back to Brough where we bear right at the T-junction heading to Dunnet village, passing St John’s Loch en route, where you can experience great trout fishing. At Dunnet, we are back on the main road again and, as we leave the village, we pass a large white residence on the right looking out over the sea. It is here, House of the Northern Gate, that the Queen Mother stayed with Commander and Lady Vyner in 1952 when she saw the Castle of Mey. It is still a private residence, although it did spend some time as a hotel after the Vyners moved on until the 1980s. The village also has its own gunsmiths, CH Haygarth and Sons since 1957, Scotland’s oldest practising gunmakers and the largest dealer in the Highlands; they were the Queen Mother’s gunsmiths.

Now out of the village, we walk alongside Dunnet Bay, a sweeping curve of dune-backed white sand beach, popular for beach sports, including surfing as well as bird watching and shell collecting. At the end of the bay, we arrive in Castletown, built on an old settlement called Stanergill, meaning ‘stone valley’. It has the usual Iron Age and Norse history, but it was the quarrying of Castlehill Flagstone that made the town what it is today. We turn right and continue along the shore to the harbour which was built in 1820 by James Bremner to meet the growing demand for the export of the flagstone, in fact, much of Castletown was built in the 19th century due to its popularity. James Traill of Rattar, who owned large estates in the area opened a series of stone quarries, the largest at Castlehill in the harbour area where we are today. It became a large-scale operation, so with the completion of the new harbour, flagstone was exported across the world; the streets of London, Edinburgh, North America and beyond are paved with it. Traill built a village inland to house his employees, which was completed in 1825 and the area was called Castletown. By 1902 there were 500 people working in the flagstone industry but sadly, with the arrival of concrete slabs, the industry died here in 1912. The stone, however, is being quarried here again after a resurgence in demand for its good quality; now used in kitchens, fireplaces, paving and roofing. We wander the area taking in all the historical remains of the industry, including an old windmill structure which was used to pump water to power the saws that cut the stone. From the mill area, the stone would have been hauled down to the harbour, on carts set in tracks, pulled by horses. We also visit Castlehill Heritage to learn more about the industry of the area before rejoining the A836 heading for Thurso, just 7 kilometres along the coast.

Thurso, ‘Thor’s River’, was named by the Vikings and sits on Thurso Bay straddling a river of the same name. The first thing we see in the town, on crossing the Ellan Bridge, is the natural harbour on the river estuary. Historically, Thurso was an important Norse port and traded with northern European ports well into the 19th century. It had a thriving fishing industry but also had a good reputation for linen and tanning. When Scrabster built a new harbour in the 1850s, the use of Thurso’s harbour declined. Creel vessels and leisure boats still use the harbour today.

We follow the river path down to the seafront where we get a full view of the harbour, and along the coast to the east, spot the ruins of Thurso Castle. There have been a number of structures built on the castle site going back as far as 1157, but the ruins we see date from 1872, remains from a partial demolition in 1952. Its claim to fame? The former US President, Ulysses S Grant, visited the castle in 1877 as part of his world tour. We turn west and walk the esplanade, heading up steps onto Victoria Walk which leads us out of Thurso to the tiny village of Burnside. Here we pick up a coastal path alongside the A9 into Scrabster where the A9 terminates.

Scrabster, also on Thurso Bay, is an important port for the fishing industry as well as the ferry terminal to Stromness, Orkney. Scrabster sits nestled on the end of the bay where Holburn Head juts out into the sea. Its deep harbour made it extremely attractive to Viking longboats and the settlement is mentioned in ‘The Orkneyinga Saga’ as ‘Skarabolstadr’, the meaning of which is much debated. There was a castle sited above the shore between Thurso and Scrabster, owned by the Sinclairs then the Sutherlands, which was a ruin by 1726; all that remains today is a mound.

The first proper harbour was built in 1841 to provide secure deep-sea anchorage and it quickly became the gateway to Orkney, Shetland, the Faroes and Scandinavia. Prior to this the ships were tied up to iron rings, anchored in the base of the cliff at high tides to offload their cargo. This practice went on for so long that Scrabster became known as ‘The Rings’. At low tide, goods would have to be offloaded into small boats and brought to shore at Thurso and Scrabster. Scrabster Harbour Trust was founded to operate the harbour, initially as a fishing and ferry port, but also secured a firm ferry link with Stromness by 1856. The harbours' success led to the construction of Holborn Head Lighthouse by the Stevenson family in 1862. Over the years the harbour has continued to expand and renovate to meet the demands of larger vessels and new customers, attracting new sectors such as oil, gas, marine and renewables.