Tag: Whaligoe Steps

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.

Words failed me this morning when I took a wee stroll down the Whaligoe Steps. I saw what looked like a shiny, wet smooth boulder peaking through the surface of the water within the inlet of this immediate coastline. But something in the back of my mind was telling me that no such smooth item existed in that specific bit of sea.

On closer inspection this smooth object was something else and to my utter glee, my internal self reacted by leaping around with ecstatic abandonment and the endorphins were having a party! I was looking at a member of the sea world which was not an oystercatcher, herring gull or a cormorant, but was in fact a seal.

The clip shows the seal having a tired yawn and being quite at peace with the environment. I stood as still as I could on what is known as the bink (the flat base at the bottom of the Whaligoe Steps). The whole experience was special and highly cathartic.

On occasion we talk about the ‘wild’ life, and what it was like walking amongst the ‘wild’ and that sort of thing. When in reality during times like this one, it was anything but ‘wild’ – It was a calm and serene, gradual awakening to a brand new day.

Thanks as always for dropping by and sharing your time watching this seal with me. According to the experts, in this region of the United Kingdom the common seal sightings are of grey seals, but their counterpart is known as the harbour seal – They are rare. I am no expert, but I think this is a grey seal.

Take care and be safe.

The amenities/facilities here around the Whaligoe Steps. Exhibit A.

Either right at the very end of 2017 or the turning of 2018, this salt grit bin made an appearance. When the ground gets too icy and dangerous the contents can be used to make conditions a lot safer.

As I meandered back up from the Whaligoe Steps this morning, I walked over to the grit salt bin which is the only (at the time of this blog post) sign of Highland Council presence within their residential car parking area regarding amenities/facilities.

But I digress. I wanted to share with you the continued traffic situation here when it gets busy.

With the car park full, a car on the left is waiting patiently for some sensible and safe way to park. As they wait a resident tries to leave their lane (the silver car). Meanwhile a campervan hesitates in the only access point to the residential car parking facility due to an oncoming Jeep squeezing by.

In a recent local newspaper article, residents or visitors were recommended by the Highland Council to call 101 – I quote “Obstruction is a police matter. Residents experiencing obstruction or damage to their property/vehicles should contact the police on 101.”

“The council has no immediate plans to extend the car park at Ulbster but is willing to work with communities where need is identified and funding can be found.”

The article can be found here: Ulbster resident talks of ‘nightmare’ parking problems at Whaligoe Steps on NC500 route (johnogroat-journal.co.uk)

Naturally, with the volume of visitors increasing and the residential car park being full, individuals seek out other parking locations.

Take care, and as always thanks for your time. Be safe.

Here are the six sets of steps which make up the zig-zag formation of the Whaligoe Steps, with each section of the ascendency clearly shown – 23rd of August, 2021.

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.

Who doesn’t love a shameless clip of calm and nature? That’s a rhetorical question and one that leads me in to sharing some wee clips from my early morning stroll.

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.

This morning during the sunrise I took the opportunity as the tide was low enough, to make my way to the pebble shore which is precarious to navigate. My idea was to look through my camera lens and see what I could find.

As a result, this post is nothing more shameless than to share an angle of the Whaligoe Steps not often witnessed, and to my surprise I felt like the images could have been taken on another planet.

I was looking up the name for washed up items which are left littering the shorelines of the coast when I stumbled across what is observed to be a proper marine term. ‘Wrack line’ or a ‘wrack zone’ came to my attention.

There is a quaint pebble beach which is tricky to reach down at the base of the Whaligoe Steps. It is a challenge to negotiate due to not only the slippery ground beneath foot, but also due to debris which periodically drops down from the overhanging cliff face.

On a daily basis you can see an item left to rest until the tide rolls in again to manoeuvre it to a new location. This morning I thought I would share my findings.

I went for a stroll down the Whaligoe Steps this fine morning and captured the amazing sunrise photograph you can see on this post. I will share with you some other visual delights too if you can spare a moment to browse.