The Whaligoe Steps – Down a Cliff to a Herring Harbour
About 1.9 miles on foot.
South of Wick, a flight of about 330 flagstone steps zigzags down a sheer cliff to a harbour so small it's hard to believe two dozen herring boats once worked from it.
The way down is easy and the way back up is the walk. At the bottom there's a grassy landing place, an old winch and the sea coming in through a cleft in the cliffs.
- Time
- An hour to an hour and a half: about 330 steps down the cliff and back, and 3 km (1.9 miles) with the Cairn of Get added. A short walk with a steep climb back.
- The path
- About 330 flagstone steps down a cliff, steep and slippery when wet.
- Where to start
- A few free bays at the end of the side road to Whaligoe, off the A99 opposite the Cairn of Get sign. Often full.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, on a dry and still day. Not in rain, frost or a strong wind. From November to January arrive by 1pm.
- Dogs
- On a short lead on the steps.
- Children
- Steep flights above the sea: hold on to children all the way.
- Toilets
- None at Whaligoe.
- Before you set out
- The flagstones are slippery when wet and icy after frost. Not a walk for rain, frost or a strong wind.
The walk
Whaligoe isn't signposted from the A99. Take the side road towards the sea opposite the sign for the Cairn of Get, and park at its end, where there are a few free bays that are often full. There are no toilets and no café here now. The Caithness Broch Project counts about 330 steps, laid in flagstone between low walls, dropping down the cliff to a grassy platform called the Bink. The steps were probably built in 1792, though a traveller saw people using a stair here in 1769. Thomas Telford came prospecting for harbours in 1786 and called it a terrible spot.
Even so, at its busiest Whaligoe kept 24 boats, and the women carried the herring up the steps in baskets and on to Wick, eight miles away. The last boat was hauled out in the 1970s, and a winch still stands at the bottom. Volunteers look after the steps today. Going down is easy. Coming back up is a different matter, so take it at your own pace. The flagstones are slippery when wet and icy after frost, and the sea is right below.
In rain, frost or a strong wind, look from the top and keep the steps for another day. Hold on to children all the way, and keep dogs on a short lead. The Cairn of Get, a chambered cairn, is signed inland from the other side of the main road. Walkhighlands gives the steps and the cairn together as 3 km and an hour to an hour and a half. From November to January, be here by 1pm.
If it rains
Don't go down in the wet. The flagstones are slippery and the drop is to the sea, so on a rainy day the steps are for looking at from the top.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is House of the Northern Gate, 21 miles away. Sleeps 18.
For further reading, before you go.