New phase of work to start at Wick's North Baths after vital seawall repairs
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Work is expected to start next month on a new programme of improvements at Wick's historic North Baths – following on from an initial project to save the outdoor pool from being lost to the forces of nature.
Costing around £29,000, the second phase will involve creating easier access to the site and providing new steps at the shallow end of the 119-year-old attraction which is used daily by cold-water swimmers.
It comes after the first stage of vital work to upgrade two concrete seawalls around the pool. Local building firm GMR Henderson fixed the east-facing wall last autumn, after some weather delays, and will also be repairing the south-facing wall as part of the same scheme which will see an outlay of almost £16,000.
Most of the money for the seawall improvements has come from the Caithness Beatrice Community Fund through a £10,000 grant.
Patty Coghill, chairperson of the Friends of the North Baths committee, revealed that there had been a "big push on" to prioritise the west-facing wall as it was the one most in danger of collapse. She said of the contractors: “I can't praise them enough.
"GMR Henderson pulled out all the stops to get that done. They have saved these baths by doing that.
"They had to keep pulling back from it. They kept setting all their framework up and then the weather would just turn and they would have to abandon it and come back.”
Patty pointed out that the pool had been hit badly by a powerful storm in December 2012, described at the time as the worst seen in Wick Bay in living memory. The scale of the damage became clear in 2021 when volunteers got together to clean out the baths and give them a new lease of life.
"The wall was intact until 2012 when we had the perfect storm," Patty explained. “Then every year it was constantly pulling more away and more away.
“In some ways, us starting the swimming, that's what kind of saved it.
“When we saw how bad it was, we thought 'we've got to do something about this'. So that's when the fundraising started.”
The Beatrice award was backed up by local donations and online support through a GoFundMe page.
“The people of Wick are so generous and they've supported all our events,” Patty said.
Phase two, which will create better access for the public and the maintenance team, as well as viewpoint improvements, is scheduled to get under way in May and will be carried out by another local business, JLS Formwork.
The Friends of the North Baths have committed about £8000 from their funds and have secured financial support from Highland Council Community Regeneration Funding, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and the North Highland Initiative.
Patty said: “We've got one lady who is partially sighted and she struggles getting in and out. For people like her it will be great to get those steps fixed.”
The pool is used every day, even to the extent of swimmers breaking ice in order to get in during the winter months.
Patty and other regular swimmers emphasise the benefits to mental and physical health of having a dip in cold water.
“We swim everywhere," she said. "Honestly, if I don't go swimming, I don't feel as happy.
“We were always told the cold isn't good for you – but actually it is really good for you. At the beginning of time we lived in caves and we were used to the cold.
“It's good for our circulation to be cold, although not for too long."
She hopes the improvements will also inspire tourists to enter the water.
“It's on the North Coast 500, it's also on the John O'Groats Trail, so the place needs to look nice," Patty said. "We're maintaining it and making it look good and it might encourage them to go in for a swim."
The North Baths opened in 1904 at a location formerly known as Blackrock harbour.
The committee had thought that ownership of the site lay with the Hempriggs Estate, only for it to emerge that it is in fact part of the Crown Estate.
Patty pointed out that the pool is used for coastguard training as well as by model boat enthusiasts and for canoe practice.
The revival of swimming at the North Baths was celebrated at a fun day in July 2021 after the pool had been cleaned out and whitewashed thanks to local businesses and a willing band of helpers.
