F.A.Q. Time!…

How old are the steps?

There has been some sort of trail down the cliffs to the harbour at Whaligoe since at least the 1640’s. Thomas Pennant wrote a book called “A Tour of Scotland” in 1769 containing a reference to Whaligoe and described the use of steps by locals to carry heavy loads. This activity would probably have been on a more domestic scale before the significant impact of the herring fisheries. It wasn’t until around 1792 that the Whaligoe Steps as we know them today were built, commissioned by Captain David Brodie who had about 330 Caithness flagstones brought in for the job.

How Much did the steps cost to build?

The reported cost to build the steps was £8. However in addition to providing a more usable set of steps, areas at the bottom of the cliffs were blasted to enlarge the harbour. A standing area known as the Bink was also built as part of this engineering project. These additional costs totalled around £53. Worthy of note, these costs were for materials and skilled workers wages and did not include labouring costs. (In those days, locals were expected to provide labour as part of their rent which clearly suggests the true cost of the steps would have been much higher!)

To provide some perspective regarding the costs, a domestic servant in London at the time would expect to earn between £2 – £4 a year (with lodgings, food and clothing provided). A skilled worker such as a Coachman would earn between £12 – £26 a year.

Did women carry baskets of fish up the steps?

Women did carry baskets of fish up the steps. But there are also eyewitness accounts in newspapers at the time that clearly state men, women and children all carried baskets of fish up the steps.

Whaligoe was once a thriving harbour with large catches of fish being regularly landed during what is now recognised widely as the herring fisheries. The women would gut the fish at the bottom of the steps and then the results were carried to the building at the top where they would be cured, packed and ready for transport to Wick (seven miles northwards). Scotland recognised the profits and large quantities of money being made with exporting trades doing brisk business, so families as a whole were motivated in making sure the fish reached the right destinations!

How many steps are there?

Nobody is totally sure how many steps there are. Maintenance and repairs over the decades have made significant alterations in conjunction with which physical parts of Whaligoe Steps people are counting. Visible steps positioned in the vicinity are scattered which confuses the issue of where and when to begin working out the equation. A popular notion is that there is a step for every day of the year. In a newspaper article from 1850, the number noted is 332.

In Christopher J. Uncles’ book “Memories of Caithness” published in 2004, it states that “Estimates of the number of stone steps varies, while I have seen numbers vary between 338 and 365 mentioned, I have never felt able to count them individually myself…”

An article from an 1896 newspaper adds “Originally I believe, it boasted of a step for every day of the year and even now it has fully three hundred.”

(This is the earliest mention I have found to date of a step for each day of the year).