Snow and ice has affected Thurso more severely over the years
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Thurso's Heritage by a Thirsa Loon
As the end of 2022 came around and 2023 began, Thurso was carpeted with snow, giving it a bonnie seasonal look, despite some treacherous walking and a few unfortunate falls.
Many will remember “Operation Snowdrop”, run by the military. It doesn’t snow like that now, nor does it stay as long, but is that a good thing or a sign of dreaded climate change?
In the old days, there were no gritters to clear roads and pavements, and you had to have plenty of supplies to hand in case snow drifts cut off the town. The townsfolk usually made it through without too much trouble.
Living in the country meant having a supply of salt goods and buying goods like flour in bulk by the quarter or half boll.
People could be isolated for days, even weeks, with snow reaching the eaves of their cottages. Roads, tracks and railways were only accessible when the weather changed, or snow was cleared manually.
In 1843, a deep covering of snow lay between Thurso and John O’Groats, stopping the mail coach from running for a fortnight.
The weather report for mid-April 1849 records: “Yesterday morning the wind increased in violence, and much snow fell then and during the day. Towards the night, the drift was more severe than at any time this season. Today, the storm continues; the wind blows rudely from the north; the snow falls fast, and the sky is still an angry appearance. Of course, this weather will interrupt farming operations; but we hope it will soon be over, to be speedily succeeded by cheerful sunshine.”
Many generations have enjoyed snowball fights, building snowmen, and sledging. Lover’s Lane used to be a popular sledging spot when traffic wasn’t as heavy. Almost all sledges were homemade, with runners made by blacksmiths for a few pennies.
But you had to be careful. A head-on collision with Shrubbery Bank’s dyke caused cuts and bruises for those who didn’t turn quickly enough onto Janet Street. There was a lot of time spent at Factors Pool, below Shrubbery Bank, where the well-off showed their ice skates and gave the poorer bairns a “shottie”.
Icicles were collected from the caves, which doubled as swords for re-enacting pirate fights read about or seen in the cinema. For the grown-ups, curling was played on the retting pool during severe frost. It was popular enough that some gentlemen formed a Thurso Curling Club.
When there was ice, it was collected from the river, ponds and lochs and used in the ice houses at Scrabster and Thurso East. Severe weather caused the river to be frozen from Thurso to Halkirk on one occasion.
Not wanting to miss out, some innovative people set up braziers and made a roaring trade selling roasted chestnuts. Today, when frozen, the river is rarely robust enough to venture across. Nor would I ever advise you to try it, as ice rarely freezes uniformly and can have weak spots.
Even later, when cars couldn’t pass snow-laden roads, people improvised. Instead of using his horse-drawn lorry, Jimmy Sutherland brought out his horse-drawn sledge to get the food through to the appreciative and no doubt hungry villagers. Today, the equivalent would be to reach for the mobile and do an online shop delivered to your door. How times have changed!
- To get in touch, contact thursoheritage1@gmail.com
