Barra kicks up a storm across Caithness
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Huge gusts and stormy seas along the east coast of Caithness took their toll on paths and roads this week with fallen trees and boulders.
A road in Watten had a large tree branch blocking it on Tuesday until it was removed the following day and a road leading to Wick's North Baths is now strewn with stones, boulders and other debris from the sea.
Wick's weather watcher Keith Banks, who writes a monthly column for the paper, said: "During the latter part of Tuesday evening and the early hours of Wednesday morning a force 8 east-south-east gale that developed on the northern flank of Storm Barra pummelled exposed parts of Caithness.
"There were lots of damaging gusts in the storm force 10 category, with a peak gust of 60mph observed in Wick at midnight."
It is not known if the North Baths has suffered any damage from the storm but a huge amount of debris was thrown up by the stormy seas in Wick Bay this week.
A road leading to the recently refurbished outdoor swimming pool is currently impassable for vehicles due to boulders and smaller stones landing on it along with other material from the shoreline.
Willie Watt, chair of Wick Paths Group (WPG), had worked with contractors and volunteers, many of them members of the Friends of the North Baths group, to refurbish the popular pool. The road leading to the pool had been littered with boulders before local contractors removed them to allow access for vehicles and pedestrians.
Mr Watt said: "Unfortunately the winter storms have visited again and thrown up the small and not so small stones onto the roadway.
"This happens every year and we will get things tidied up in the next few days. The good news is that the section we strengthened along the side of the road has held firm. There is always a battle with the wave action, however, so we will keep our eye on it over the winter."
Secretary of WPG, John Bogle, said that paths group volunteers will be clearing rubbish washed up by the storm from the shore at Market Street on Sunday and anyone interested in helping should arrive at around 10am.
