Day 102 - Thrumster to Noss Head

Another very wet night with rain pounding on the van. It did begin to clear but we were still fairly late starting. I had to drive back to Dunbeath where I had, stupidly, left my credit card in the Spar shop. Fortunately, it wasn't far to drive back - I had to drop The Walker along that road anyway. This drive is usually very pleasant with excellent sea views but the wind was really strong and there was so much rain that part of the road was flooded. I had planned to stop off at the Whaligoe steps but decided not to. I wouldn't have been able to see much in the driving rain and would have probably been blown away into the sea.

Further North, in Wick, I think the weather had been much better as there were lots of people wandering about in the town, but rain arrived with me! I visited the excellent Heritage Centre - another of those museums with gems about local history; it is extremely well presented and all looked after by local people. Wick, though, always seems to be a bit sad and run down. Maybe it's because the weather has never been good when we've stopped here; it's always been dim and dismal. The town centre has an odd assortment of shops, with the Tourist Information Centre hidden away upstairs at the back of a school uniform shop! Very strange!

From Bernie:
Today's walk  10.0 miles     :     Cumulative  1276.2 miles

Sweatshirt, waterproof & fleece today! Distinctly chilly out on those cliff-tops.... stuck to the shorts, though!

One of those days when it was impossible to completely dry-out; just as I started to feel warm & dry enough to pack my waterproof away another squally shower blasted in & soaked me again. My feet never had the chance to enjoy such moments - 20 minutes into the walk, 10 yards off tarmac & onto the moor & water was over the top of my boots! The only time I wasn't wading or splashing was when wandering the streets of Wick!

There is a coastal track marked on the map but since my last visit it seems that local farmers have extended their pasture as close to the cliff-edge as possible & defined their land with new, high & tautly-strung barbed wire. Crossing these fences in the strong winds was an adventure in itself!

Thrumster Railway Station

The last of my great Industrial Heritage pilgrimages (I think!) began at Thrumster's 'Old Smiddy Inn' where we'd finished yesterday afternoon with David from Whaligoe Steps. I say, 'I think', because while I was looking forward to Wick & thought I knew what to expect, the day's first gem came in Thrumster itself! Spotted a building which to my inexpert eye looked like an old railway station; on investigation I found it to be part of the old Wick-Lybster line, opened in 1903 to support the herring industry & partially-restored with a small memorial garden around it.

Castle of Old Wick

The manager is right about much of the centre of Wick but she didn't have the benefit of a cliff-top & harbour approach to the town. From the spectacularly-situated remains of the 12th century Castle of Old Wick my route took me through the South Head quarries & past the less-robust remains of Thomas Stevenson's breakwater - despite his engineering successes elsewhere the Wick waves defeated him & this project was never completed!

Stevenson's Breakwater & entrance to Wick Harbour

Beside the harbour itself is the splendidly restored 'Herring Market' building; originally opened in 1892 it looks tiny, cheerful & quite colourful next to some of the more modern shipping & fishing buildings. Close by is the 'Seven Gates' project, a series of metal sculpures at the entrances to the harbour's salt-cellars.

One of the Seven Gates - chose this because of the mermaid: 2 days in & I was visiting the 'Mermaid of Zennor' so this seemed to add a bit of symmetry to the whole affair!

Highlight of the Day: it was almost with reluctance that I dragged myself away from the town for the last of the day's splashy walking, out to the lighthouse at Noss Head, but my last sight of Wick as I rounded North Head was a perfect summary of my day. A superb view of the whole town with its historic harbours; in the foreground an old, sadly-neglected & obsolete-looking war memorial; one of the town's two tidal swimming-pools (still in use in rather warmer weather!; a modern fishing trawler anchored in the bay &, beyond all of this, the rugged cliff-tops that I'd walked stretching away to the south. Excellent day's walking..... & John O'Groats is due north of Noss Head!

Wick from North Head

Beer of the Day: finally stumbled across the Williams Brothers Brewery in Alloa - had a bottle of their 'Harvest Sun', a golden bitter with a gentle hoppy flavour & lemony bite.... this is good & I've got a couple more bottles of theirs to try!

Pauline & Terry: thanks for your kind comments about the blog - much appreciated!! And for the generous donation! Hope you're impressed by my developing railway 'knowledge'!

Thanks, also, to all those who have sent emails, messages etc wishing us luck for the last few days! Looking forward to it!

2 days to go!
Things we're looking forward to doing when we get home (Walker): laying on the sofa with a good bottle of red wine & enjoying the aroma of a real home-made curry wafting through from Les' 'big' kitchen!

The Wick River, just below our van..... & rising!

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