Category: People

It has been a busy few days here for Whaligoe Eye. Time to share with you a few bits about some observations and activities. Hold tight as those waves can provide quite a rollercoaster ride!

Caithness Seacoast Caithness Seacoast – Thrilling Sea Tours around the Caithness Coastline (caithness-seacoast.co.uk) have gained a great reputation for bringing some truly great insight to a piece of the north-easterly coastline in these parts of Scotland, in conjunction with dramatic views, wildlife encounters and moments of adrenaline. The word ‘thrill’ is readily to mind when reflecting on a generous hour and a half of adventure.

Whaligoe Steps from the north sea is a unique opportunity to see them from a refreshing perspective. It is one thing to be descending and tackling the ascent afterwards on those stones underfoot, but to see them in relation to the landscape which embraces them is something else.

Not only did we witness the coastal caves which lurk beneath the Bink, or maybe a little to the side, but we witnessed the waterfalls sprinkling a delightfully fresh cascade down on to the surface of the sea.

With a narrative regarding historical facts, wildlife and significant individuals to what was witnessed regarding the trip from Wick Harbour to the Whaligoe Steps, there was no room for a break. The eyes were taking in the views, the ears were listening to trivia and all the time the brain was bombarded with stimuli.

This adventure was an experience which was very welcome, insightful and I will be doing again. The knowledge of the crew, the attention to health and safety and the overall detail provided made me feel confident in them and their abilities, and subsequently relax and enjoy the ride. Highly recommended.

I was reflecting over the many individuals who have scribed their initials in to bits of the Whaligoe Steps. There are quite a few and they all tell their own story.

The “W Y T” you see in my photograph happens to belong to someone who lived close to the Whaligoe Steps for essentially his entire life. Sadly he is no longer with us and I personally miss him a lot. Prepare yourself for a wee blog swimming in sentimentality.

In the photograph where he’s sporting his woolly hat and dark blue overalls, he is keeping busy in his shed working on his woodwork. He made chairs, a cupboard and all sorts of items.

Back in the day when I was very fortunate enough to know William “Wull” Taylor, he was a busy and gentle man. If “Wull” was not making something with his carpentry skills, he was reading, fishing, building a miniature model railway or going for a walk in to the wilderness.

He was a prolific fisherman utilising different flies on the end of his fishing rod and calculating which one was going to be the flavour of the season. Visiting a local loch, he would be calm and patient whilst observing all around him.

Many evenings saw the two of us or maybe more tackling old computer games when cassettes were the format of choice. Patiently waiting for games to load before we could get stuck in to them, our conversations would cover subjects like books, magazines, films, plans for the future and life as we observed it. “Wull” enjoyed science fiction pop-culture in the form of Terry Pratchett books, the ‘Red Dwarf’ television programme and I recall when ‘The X-Files’ started out, how we would both be buzzing with enthusiasm about it.

Due to his gentle nature, “Wull” was very much loved in the community. For me personally, it is a delight to think that visitors to the Whaligoe Steps may notice his initials carved in to one of the steps as they either descend or ascend. His memory lives on in a way which only time has shown me.

I have my photographs of him, and my memories of the adventures and experiences we shared. There are signs of him all around me even today which brings me a sense of comfort. People say that when you lose someone dear to you, that you never get over it but learn to live with it. I feel that is a true reflection.

Thanks as always for dropping by. Take care and be safe.

My stroll down the Whaligoe Steps this morning provided a thought-provoking discovery. On the pebble shore was a stack of stones which has been a hot topic amongst tourists and environmentalists in recent times. I filmed my discovery which you can see in this blog and found myself speaking about what I came across. Apologies if you’re not a fan of commentary – Just turn the volume off.

The stacks of stones which appear in all manner of locations from popular tourist destinations on the Orkney Islands right around the globe to Australia, are examples of humans physically changing a natural environment where varying types of wildlife inhabit.

If you and I put our feet in the metaphorical footwear of a species of wildlife to imagine what this stack of stones was like, it might be comparable to you finding your home rearranged one day to the point that it resembled a pile of rubble!

When you delve in to the rabbit hole which is the debate about whether they are good or bad, you stumble across inspiring associations related to spiritual or religious belief and the symbolism connected to mental health wellbeing. In the moment an individual or a group assemble and balance such a striking structure, the process itself quite possibly feels cathartic.

Personally, I see them in the moment as an artistic expression but do understand the significance regarding the sensitivity of the natural world.

It is good to wonder. Take care, be safe.

Beautiful sunrise this Saturday morning as I took a stroll down the Whaligoe Steps. All was calm but there was plenty to reflect on. I want to say thank you to David Scott (NOSN) for the recent articles which appeared in the Northern Times and the John O’Groat Journal. If you are interested, I will share the links with you.

Ulbster resident talks of ‘nightmare’ parking problems at Whaligoe Steps on NC500 route (johnogroat-journal.co.uk)

Ulbster resident talks of ‘nightmare’ parking problems at Whaligoe Steps on NC500 route (northern-times.co.uk)

…And now for something completely different! I named a herring gull I keep witnessing down the Whaligoe Steps “Henry”, and at long last I captured some footage of an oystercatcher. So in the naming tradition of a herring gull, I have used very little imagination and named this oystercatcher “Ollie”. Say hello to Ollie.

As I learn about blogging and shamelessly confess to be completely new to this, I stumbled recently across Gail Anthea Brown who is an experienced local and respected blogger. Check out her link below if you have some time.

Wellies on the School Run · From Caithness Author Gail Anthea Brown

The reason I am sharing the link is that Gail shared an excellent observation in a recent blog post about a side to tourism which is easily forgotten.

Poo, Potholes and Park-Ups – Why Highlanders Are Tired of Scotland’s North Coast 500 Route · Wellies on the School Run

Thank you as always for your time, take care and be safe.

Back on the 30th of June in 2019, I witnessed the amazing local coastguard in action outside my front door. An accident occurred down at the base of the Whaligoe Steps and if memory serves me right, there were three road-based vehicles in attendance in conjunction with this marvellous example of their helicopter.

If you are interested in keeping up to date with this essential emergency service, you can visit their social media profile here HM Coastguard – Highland – Home | Facebook

I mention this incident to highlight my concern with the current (at the time of composing this blog entry) logistics of vehicles negotiating this place. If you check my previous posts there are examples of the busy moments around the Whaligoe Steps where traffic builds up and tailbacks, frustration and what can only be described as congestion is evident.

It is not a stretch of the imagination to know that the full weight of the emergency services could well be hampered if they are required to attend an emergency during a busy time at this residential area.

Thank you as always for your time reading this, I really appreciate it.

I don’t know how you feel about strawberry jam, but on the right slice of bread it is a wonderful guilty pleasure! Please don’t tell my Mum as she enjoys a piece of cake more, and may take offence to me singing the praises of the humble slice of bread with jam combination.

On this website I would rather be talking about this type of jam, but at the time of composing this blog and reflecting on yesterday around the Whaligoe Steps I feel I need to share these photographs…

I find myself battling my internal tensions and stress from Friday morning right through to Tuesday evening at the time of this post, as I live right in the eye of the storm so to speak. Visitors are welcome as I too love this location, but if I can inform any of you that at this current time and place you may be presented with inadequate access to the resident’s car parking facilities, plus no litter bins, dog waste bins, toilets, etc. then I feel I can offer a service.

It is good to talk.

Take care and be safe.

I was speaking to the Stonemason working on the current maintenance of the Whaligoe Steps yesterday who was setting out another sign… This post is a document of what is happening at this moment in time.

Charlie explained that he hopes this request will be for the duration of about two weeks, where visitors who wish to walk their dogs down the Whaligoe Steps after that time will be good to go.

Just a reminder to those who are planning on visiting the Whaligoe Steps that you need to be aware these maintenance examples are ongoing. This is is not the first time such activities have been undertaken here.

I have begun compiling some content over the last two days so far which is going to take some time and is all about the Whaligoe Steps. My particular choice of understanding concerning the story of these steps has taken me back to 1660. If events at this moment in history had not taken place, then you and I would not be seeing such an engineering feat, or for that matter some of the views and sights which have been photographed in abundance over the years.

As always, thank you for taking the time to check out this blogging website and remember to take care and be safe.