NC500 #3 Wick & Sinclair castle

I booked a hotel in Wick as that would give us enough time to explore the eastern coastline before arriving at the famous John o' Groats. 

I did not know too much about Wick & it was a surprising overnight stop. The little seaside museum at the boat heritage centre at Dunbeath had an old image of a thriving fishing town of Wick & in their heyday, these seaboard towns would have been a hive of activity. 

A walk around Wick revealed the shortest street in the world according to the Guinness book of records. Ebenezer Place is just the tiny front of a diagonal building, just one number making up its street address. I love quirky things.

The town was laid out by the well known Scottish engineer Thomas Telford & it has two sections.  We looped around the river, crossing the bridge back in to town & along the street. 

An imposing church caught our eye with huge metal gates so we crossed over to explore. What an interesting churchyard it was. Most of the old stones dating back to early 1800's were laid flat, with no space between them, meaning that they formed part of the pathways between the headstones. These were interspersed with standing headstones, many family ones giving evidence of the short lifespans that were common 200 years ago.

There were also many women who outlived their husbands by 20-30 years; how tough life was in those times. It was sad to see how many children were listed who did not make it to adulthood. We take it fore granted that we will see our biblical 'three score & ten' years - how different it was then.

Cemeteries really are a place where you can get the social history of a town & the imposing headstones hark back  to a time when there was much prosperity & opportunity in this little seaside town.

It was interesting how many of the headstones were family ones commemorating 6 or more people which really gives you a family history of that time

The harbour is no longer the fishing village, it had large ships in with what looked like wind turbines. The changing face of places. 

This coast line is rather special with the north sea's icy grip on it. 

The next morning, before heading north, we set out for the Castle Sinclair which is not far from Wick. The path leading to the castle passes by fields of sheep & leads to the coast where suddenly the castle, for me, took second place to the amazing sea stacks. I studied geography & these really are special. The waves ebb & flow around them , flat rocks visible just under the water & then the stacks with vegetation on them, proof that seabirds have taken advantage of the prime position. I had to tear myself away from the mesmerising scene to the castle nearby. 

Castle Sinclair was owned by the same family I came across at Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh last year. The family are famously mentioned in Dan Brown's book of The Da Vinci Code.  They were certainly an influential family with their home near Edinburgh & this amazing castle in a prominent position on the eastern coast.

The castle perches on the hillside with commanding views over the sea as well as the approach to it. The wind whipped up from the sea & standing at the drawbridge gave a feeling of olden days, of a time warp, of entering a place that has a long history. 

The grandeur is gone, leaving only a shell, a hint of how it once was, but a feeling that this was special. 

We carefully picked our way around the paths, read the notice boards & felt the cold wind on our cheeks. The views out over the ocean are special; supply boats used to navigate the path between the sea stacks to tie up in a sheltered cove before delivering goods to the bustling castle. The sizeable castle would have had hundreds of people working, living, trading with it. They would have had to protect themselves in times of strife, to literally pull up the drawbridge - such interesting thoughts of life there. 

I pulled some sheep wool bits from the fence as a keepsake & will probably add it to a sewing piece, a little reminder of a fabulous castle visit, of two places - Rosslyn Chapel & Sinclair Castle, converging in my memory. 

This was definitely a highlight for me ... 

I reluctantly took leave of it - definitely worth a visit, even on a windswept day. 

Dee 🏰🌊🐏