Tourist criticised for climbing up ancient Caithness castle
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PHOTOGRAPHS showing a tourist climbing the Castle of Old Wick – one of Scotland's oldest castles – have led to condemnation of the person's "careless behaviour".
The pictures were taken by Wick man Derek Bremner, a keen amateur photographer, who was on a coastal ramble south of the town to Stack of Brough, known locally as Scorries' Island.
Mr Bremner said the nearby car park by the Trinkie was full of vehicles and as he walked along he came across a group of people by the old shooting range opposite the ancient castle.
"There were six of them and they only really wanted to go to the castle," he said.
"I told them about some other things to see further along the coast and I took some to Brig o' Stack. They were okay but there was one arrogant guy who decided to climb the walls of the castle."
Mr Bremner said that the climber's friends were calling him to come down but he continued to scale the walls of the 12th-century ruin – an imposing Norse-era edifice under the custodianship of Historic Environment Scotland.
Apart from potentially damaging the structure, the climber was also putting himself at risk with sheer cliffs below him, Mr Bremner felt.
"It could have ended up with all sorts of emergency services being called out like the ambulance and lifeboat," he said.
He thinks they were English tourists doing the North Coast 500 route through the north Highlands and they told him they were planning to visit another local castle afterwards.
"They were going to Castle Sinclair Girnigoe next so I hope they never climbed that too," he said.
While on his walk Mr Bremner found part of a gate to the castle had recently been destroyed. Further along near Brig o' Stack – a sea stack connected to the mainland by a rock bridge – he encountered some other climbers.
"Those were proper rock climbers – a man and his girlfriend – and had all the right gear with boots, ropes and hats."
Robin Herrick, chairman of the local archaeological charity Caithness Broch Project, said: "One of the main attractions of Caithness is its uncurated landscape, but unfortunately that means it is vulnerable to careless behaviour.
"The climber has conceived that the ragged ruined faces of the drystone structure constitute excellent climbing walls, but the nature of drystone construction means the stones in these exposed surfaces are vulnerable to movement, which is precarious for the historic structure and the climber."
Mr Herrick added: "If the county is going to reap the benefits of greater tourism without too many downsides, there will have to be some careful thinking and investment to manage the relationship between visitors, locals, and the natural and heritage environment."
Historic Environment Scotland says that the Castle of Old Wick is potentially one of the "earliest and best-preserved" castles in Scotland.
"The castle is a distinctive landmark on a very attractive section of the Caithness coast. If 12th century, [it is] one of the very few known Norse castles anywhere in the British Isles."
