📌 Whaligoe, Highland
★★★★
The Whaligoe Steps aren’t just any old steps. They’re an incredible feat of 18th or 19th century engineering, constructed to enable fisherman to descend an otherwise near-vertical cliff face to reach their boats in the sheltered inlet below. The name comes from Whale Geo, harking back to a time when these great mammals were brought ashore and butchered here for later consumption. Volunteers have since painstakingly kept the steps from falling into disrepair, but you still need a head for heights as you descend, remembering that you have to re-ascend them all (approximately one for every day of the year) on your return. Only after making the full trip to the bottom can you begin to appreciate what an amazing and unlikely fishing location this really was. There aren’t any signposts showing the way – see below for some brief directions – and the steps are best seen in their entirety from the coast path to the south. Good to combine with the Cairn of Get, a short walk away.
🌍 Location
📌 Whale Geo, off the A9 at Whaligoe village
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: ND 321402
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 58.345569,-3.161309
🚌 Bus stops nearby on A9
🚗 Car park at 🧭 ND 320403 / 🛰️ 58.346360,-3.163606
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 Here’s the step-by-step guide (pun intended): from the car park, follow the track downhill from the entrance to the parking area, towards the house with a walled garden. Turn right at the wall, heading around the building front. After rounding the corner, the top of the steps are suddenly ahead of you.
