What is causing the strange banging sounds heard near Gills Bay?
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A Gills resident said she is at her wits end regarding the "weird banging noises" she hears in her area.
Lynn Wiseman lives with her husband in a house that overlooks the Pentland Firth and the island of Stroma and loves everything about life in Caithness apart from the strange bangs she's been hearing recently.
"My hubby said it could be those things that the farmers use for scaring crows," she said but thought it unlikely as the intermittent noises have even appeared through the night when bird scarers would be switched off.
"He said he had no idea what the noise was and said it was the wrong kind of noise for a gun if someone was out shooting. He said he had no idea what it was." She has been hearing the noises over the last fortnight and has been trying to keep a note of the times when the bangs occur.
"Usually there's one almighty bang and people must hear it for miles in the area. One minute you think it's behind you but the next you think it's the other way – it must depend on the way the wind's blowing. Sometimes you hear another bang straight after and nothing else for hours. I've wondered if it's a quarry near here and they're breaking rocks – it's been driving my brain crazy. It's usually so quiet up here as well."
She added: "I've been up here for a couple of years now but only started hearing it recently. I haven't found anything online saying anyone else in the area has heard it."
Lynn said she would hate to be thought of as a "curtain twitcher" and appear to be obstructing someone who has been working on improving their property or suchlike. "I presume I cant be only one hearing them. I would say my money is on construction of some sort or ground works."
She says there are a lot more incidents occurring during the day but she hears them throughout the night too and there "doesn't seem to be a regular pattern". Sometimes she thinks it comes from the Pentland Firth and at other times it comes from the land surrounding her at Gills and Canisbay. She doesn't believe it's any atmospheric phenomenon such as thunder. "BT was putting in fibre broadband but it can't be from that. I've honestly no idea."
Another Gills resident, unconnected to Lynn, was asked if he had heard the bangs but said he had not noticed anything. Highland Council said it had not received any similar complaints in the area but suggested bird scarers, noises from Wick airport or engineering work.
The council was asked if it had any advice for her and a spokesperson told the paper: "Normally we would expect the person suffering the noise issue to contact the department so we could discuss the issue with them.
"That way we can obtain first-hand information and also forward diary sheets so they can keep a record of when it is happening. We can then see if there is a particular pattern or time that it is occurring so we can aim to witness it." The council gave a link for any Highland residents to report similar issues for investigation by its officers at: www.highland.gov.uk/info/1281/pollution/74/reporting_noise
Lynn says it's not bothering her enough to obstruct anyone from doing their work but she'd like to know where the sound is coming from just to give her some peace of mind. Similar strange phenomena have been reported across the UK over the years with bangs and explosions coming from unknown sources. In 2014, people living hundreds of miles apart took to social media to say they had heard unusual loud noises between 10pm and 10.30pm on one particular evening that were thought to be either fireworks, military jets, thunderstorms or even meteors.
One rational explanation could be related to Lynn's proximity to the Pentland Firth and coastal cliffs. David Hill, a scientist at the US Geological Survey, wrote a recent scientific review paper rounding up the causes of mystery booms. He says that in coastal regions, for instance, large bangs may accompany "humongous waves hitting the cliffs".
Have you heard the mystery bangs? Call or email the paper with details if so.
