At the bottom of the Steps by pat40

Photography • Abstract • posted on Oct 11, 2013

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Description

Probably the strangest harbour in Caithness - built in a tiny, narrow creek at the foot of the cliff, it required a flight of flagstone steps to reach the bottom, from the fish curing station at the top. The steps are originally mid-18th century, repaired early 19th century and again very recently. The late Etta Juhle cleared about 30 tons of rubble by herself in 1975 after a landslip and David Nicolson of Ulbster has worked continuously on the steps with local historian Iain Sutherland and many other volunteers since 1998, repairing the barking kettles, quarrying and manually carrying stone up or down the cliffs and grass-cutting about every three weeks during the summer season. They have also achieved the rare distinction of winning the Shell Best of Britain award twice. In 1808, seven boats worked Whaligoe; by 1826 their number had risen to twenty four, but thereafter it declined rapidly