You know says Bo, there is this place called Whaligoe, want to go?

Sunday lunch was a bit different today.  Bo called me in the morning and said since it was just the 3 of us, we should make lunch (Chinese) at his house and take a little trip to Whaligo steps.  Jason and Bo went the first week we were here, but the sea was so rough that they couldn't go down the steps - the spray was hitting them in the face.  It's kind of hard to explain, so I went to the internet and picked up my favorite stuff.  Curiously, the spelling is never the same, but I like it best without the 'e.'

From the Top, the rock in the water along the top had a huge metal ring on it for boat securing

WHALIGOE  (whale geo or inlet of whales). A spectacular stairway with 365 steps – one for each day of the year descends to a landing place for small boats.  Boats had to be winched up to secure them in bad weather.  Some of the steps probably date from the 17^th century.  On the cliff stands an early 19^th century herring station, yard and manager’s house.

Part of the spectacular stairway

The stair is first mentioned by the Rev. Alexander Pope of Reay about 1769 when he wrote,

"In this parish (Wick) there is a haven for fishing boats, called Whaligo, which is a creek betwixt two high rocks. Though the height of one of these rocks in surprising, yet the country people have made steps by which they go up and down, carrying heavy burdens on their back; which a stranger, without seeing would scarcely believe. This is a fine fishing coast."

Bo on the mid-landing

A couple of years later, the Rev. William Sutherland wrote,

"The fishermen, on this part of the coast, to get to their boats descend a huge precipice by winding steps in the face of the rock, by which some lives have been lost; and yet, from practice, it is often done without assistance, by a blind fisherman in Ulbster. To secure their boats from being dashed against the rocks, particularly in storms and stream tides, the fishermen hang up their yauls by ropes, on hooks fixed in the face of the rock, above the level of the water, where they are safely suspended, till the weather is fit for going to sea. Mr. Brodie, tacksman of Ulbster, had paid some attention to the cleaning of these havens, and rendering the passage easier down the declivity. At one of these creeks (called Faligoe from the fall of water) is a fine cascade, rushing down a very high precipice, which, with the reflection of the sun, makes a very conspicuous appearance, from a considerable distance at sea."

At the bottom

 

"Whaligoe is now an archaeological site in the making. It is no longer useful, just old, but not venerable enough to be protected as an ancient monument." That is so British!!

The walk down was quite a bit harder then the walk up - for me anyway.  I'd done a rather hard yoga work out in the morning and I quivered all the way down, but it was a beautiful day and worth the effort.  It is hard to imagine doing all that work for herring, which I find quite strong and stinky.  Any way, it was a fabulous way to spend our Sunday and lunch was pretty good too.