Being in Wick is constantly being conscious of the elements, of the stern and uncompromising beauty of this part of the world.
The town is an old one, dating back to the time when Norway ruled Caithness, a situation brought to an end in the Treaty of Perth of 1266.
With a population of 7,350, around 1,000 fewer than Dunoon, Wick takes its name from its Norwegian history, with the word ‘vik’ meaning a bay. It straddles the Wick River (above, with Wick Parish Church on the far side) and wraps itself around the inner reaches of the unusual equilateral triangle of Wick Bay.
Its sturdy and magnificent stone harbour (above, under attack by natural forces) has seen a flourishing fishing industry and a history in support of naval operations as the port of transit of high ranking officers and politicians visiting the British Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow in Orkney.
It used to be the county town, now ceded to Thurso, It is on the A9-A99 linking the rest of Scotland to the UK’s most northerly point at John of Groats.
Some of its road names are Norse – like Sandigoe road – the route Dr Ewen Pearson’s children take, now for the time being, to get to Hillhead School.
Near the town are some of the great Caithess ruined castles, most of them Sinclair fortresses, like the once impregnable medieval-to-renaissance stronghold of Girnigoe (with Sean and Tomas Pearson visiting, left). This is the most spectacular ruin in the North of Scotland, currently undergoing preservation by the Clan Sinclair Trust. Continue reading
