Thurso Camera Club members enjoy informative visit to Whaligoe Steps as part of season's activities
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The winter season has seen a range of activities for the Thurso Camera Club, not least a trip to Whaligoe Steps near Lybster.
The steps had been deteriorating for a number of years and becoming hazardous. Much renovation work has been undertaken over the past year to make them safe for the many visitors to explore this part of Caithness’s heritage.
The Whaligoe Steps give testament to a once thriving fishing industry.
Club member Robert Murdoch, who is also a tour guide with Caithness Seacoast Ltd, gave members a history of the steps. He explained that there are records of fishing from Whaligoe from as long ago as 1640 but, in 1792, Captain David Brodie who farmed land above the geo commissioned the building of the steps that now cling to the cliff.
The steps allowed easier access to the narrow inlet at the bottom of the cliff. To create a more practical workspace, tall walls were built on the rocks at the bottom and back filled with rubble from the cliff to create the area called the Bink.
This solid platform is about the size of a modern tennis court and on it women would have processed the catch and men would have repaired boats and nets. Around the perimeter of the Bink ropes were strung between poles over which nets were dried.
When first built there were about 365 steps but over the years repairs have reduced this number and, following the most recent improvements, there are said to be 337.
At its peak up to 24 boats fished from this inlet, the last boat being removed from the water in 1970. To make removal of the boats from the water easier, a winch, which is still there, was installed and ropes from the winch were run from it round pulley blocks fastened to chains set into the cliff face furthest from the sea, an area called the Neist.
Boats were first hauled on to the small beach at the Neist and then, using a now missing second winch on the Bink, hauled up to where they could be worked on.
Images taken by club members on the day show some interesting features on and around the steps. In days gone by fisherwomen climbed the many steps with a heavy load of fish landed at the small harbour before carrying them to Wick several miles away – the photographers' camera equipment weighing only a fraction of the heavy loads carried by these fisherwomen.
Club members have also been busy visiting local places such as Latheron Harbour including the interesting local community innovation of the nearby Fairy Glen.
The club has continued to make good use of online meetings with interesting presentations from astrophotographer Stuart McIntyre, landscape photographer Harry Wheeler, floral photographer Andy Small and sports photographer Ian Cook.
Despite the arrival of spring, nights are still dark enough for some opportunities of outdoor light painting photography and hopefully the Aurora.
The club will continue to use a mix online and outdoor meetings, and indoor meetings will resume when circumstances allow.
