Work on Wick's North Baths to be finished in time for school holidays
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Wick's historic North Baths will be out of action until later this month while work takes place on the latest phase of improvements.
Costing around £29,000, it involves creating easier access to the site and repairing the steps at the shallow end of the 119-year-old attraction on the north side of Wick Bay which is normally used daily by dedicated swimmers.
The pool has been drained to allow the work to be carried out. This should be completed by the end of next week, and the North Baths will then be whitewashed by volunteers before being brought back into use in time for the school holidays.
It comes after the first stage of vital measures 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 involve 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.
The Beatrice award was backed up by local donations and online support through a GoFundMe page.
Phase two, to create better access for the public and the maintenance team, as well as viewpoint improvements, is being carried out by another local business, JLS Formwork, run by John Stewart.
Patty Coghill, chairperson of the Friends of the North Baths committee, said: "That gives us a little bit of time to whitewash the shallow end and it'll be absolutely ready for the summer holidays which are a fortnight on Friday."
She emphasised that repairing the steps will make access to the pool from the shallow end much easier: "Any grannies that have been going there with little bairnies, they would struggle to get down those steps because they're so broken and uneven."
The Friends of the North Baths have committed money from their funds and secured financial support from Highland Council Community Regeneration Funding, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and the North Highland Initiative.
Patty and other regular swimmers have spoken of the benefits to mental and physical health of having a dip in cold water.
The North Baths opened in 1904 at a location formerly known as Blackrock harbour.
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.
