More snow is forecast, so I’ll take the bus north to the village of Keiss and walk back to town. Ice cracks under my boots as I cross the River Wick to the bus stop.
The bus driver corrects my well-practised pronunciation of Keiss. I don’t think these auto-pronunciation websites work for Gaelic.
It’s a short journey. The village’s main street leads down to the harbour, but I cut through the houses to the beach, where WW2 tank traps strengthen a garden wall.
A beautiful beach sweeps round Sinclair’s Bay to the lighthouse at Noss Head. Unsurprisingly, my footprints are the first to break the pristine snow.
The Burn of Lyth is too deep to ford unless I strip down to my boxers, and it’s not the weather for that sort of malarky. Closer to the dunes, where the water runs over stones, it’s only about a foot deep, so I plunge in. Crossing only takes a few seconds, and my overtrousers combine with my leather boots to keep my feet dry — much to my amazement.
The sky darkens and snow falls, magical in this light.
A mysterious rusting cylinder marks the wreck of the steam trawler Jean Stephen, driven onto the beach in a blizzard in 1958.
The 16th-century Ackergill Tower looms impressively over the narrow path beneath its walls.
Rain heads my way.
A ferocious blast of sleet and hail obscures a man walking his dog on the beach. The dog seems happy enough, so this is probably just a normal day out up here.
After a few minutes, the weather clears. This was one of two Quadrant Shelters, built to measure the accuracy of WW2 bombing practice runs across the bay. They included Barnes Wallis’ Highball circular bouncing bombs, designed to take out the German battleship Tirpitz. Never used in action, they live in the shadow of his dambusting cylindrical bouncing bombs. Sixty dummy concrete bombs still lie on the bottom of the bay.
Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, perched precariously on the clifftop, is my favourite part of the walk.
For once, I obey the Keep Out and Dangerous Building signs on the wooden bridge to the tower house. The structure is covered with fencing and this is not the weather to take risks.
There’s no public access to Noss Head Lighthouse and someone is working outside, so I follow the edge of a small lake to link up with a marshy path across the fields to Staxigoe.
My walk ends through the streets round Wick Bay, finding a cafe to put my feet up, enjoy a hot coffee and reflect on another fine day. There’s so much to enjoy on this coastline.
Date of walk: Thursday 21 November 2024.
Walk distance: 11 miles.
Total distance: 4,751 miles.
Postscript — Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the National History Museum
Twist and Jump
Jose Manuel GrandÃo captures this display of exuberance by a stoat in winter.
It’s not just me that has trouble with pronouncing places as I often got corrected by bus drivers too. Amazing views again I love seeing this coast in the snow although I am sure it was a cold walk. Ackergill tower looks so beautiful in the snow. I was able to explore Castle Sinclair, it’s a shame to see it’s been closed off now.
It’s even worse when they don’t recognise the pronunciation and say “I’m not sure we go there.” 🙂
Good to see it in snow as I’ve only been there in summer – not always in good weather though!
A lovely walk and glad you survived the weather!
I’m glad I decided not to hike in December. It’s lovely to write these up from the warmth of my study with a mince pie and a cup of tea. 🙂
An excellent day’s walk, despite or perhaps because of the snow. Sinclair’s Bay beach is amazing.
Spent many a day in Noss Head lighthouse doing maintenance work.
Sounds like you could combine work and hiking. What did you do?