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.
…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.
Clip from 27/08/2021
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.
This morning I stood and pondered as I looked out across the North Sea. The pebble shore I was standing on was slippery underfoot, and I thought about the sign which you can see before the descent down the Whaligoe Steps.
My thoughts were that despite such beauty here, there are aspects which still need to be considered. If you decide to visit here for the first time or repeat a prior experience, simply be careful and mindful of risks.
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.
Photo taken 30th June, 2019
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.
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.
Sign put up on the 22nd of August, 2021
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.
Maintenance continues… Maintenance continues…
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.
Below is an example of the busy times outside the front door. Thankfully the congestion shown in this edited video clip does not happen all the time, with many visitors to the Whaligoe Steps finding themselves able to negotiate the parking facilities without mounting the kerb, causing property damage or having any other accidents. (Check out earlier posts).
Nevertheless, as someone who may be considering seeing the Whaligoe Steps, please keep in mind that the access via the resident’s lane was not designed to cope with large amounts of traffic. Timing of your visit at the moment this blog was composed is a serious consideration to make in order to have a positive experience.
