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"What
a miserable day!” and people are struggling back to their houses
as if the smell of peat or coal was drawing them away from the stormy
landscape. The train, like a monster at the top of Station Road blows its
last whistle and throws itself towards the moorland, through the snow and
the lights of the station softened by the heavy fall... It seems to be a
kind of old fashioned loaf put into an oven. Going along Wick River, it
will meet the other train coming along Thurso River, and after the
junction, give you a real feeling of adventure through the bad weather in
the moorland among the many prehistoric remains hidden beneath peat.
"That’s
winter !”, the impressive winter of Caithness, stretched away
from the heart of the country. The blocks of ice come down the rivers,
through the towns of Wick and Thurso, down to the sea where they finally
follow the natural rhythm of the tides...
On
certain days, from the bridge, I think the river is a link between the
crashing waves of the Creation and the setting ices of an early moving
glacier : it seems Caithness is the stone of meeting waters, erosion and
time. Time flowing away, as quickly as the high and fresh clouds rushing
their way through the high winds, time blowing through our old ruins of
Auld Wick and castle Sinclair Girnigoe, giving to them a sense of mystery.
Nobody would approach them at that time of the year, except with a bottle
of whisky to keep the body warm and the ghost stories alive !
Sheltered
in the houses, it’s time to realize that the history of these castles is
slowly dying away... But you surely still know the story of John Sinclair
“starved to death” in Girnigoe dungeon... The striking words of the
tale still blow in your memory as violently as the winds on the cliffs,
slowly eroding into the rocks and the country itself.
"Lovely
day, isn’t it ?” and people are strolling about Bridge Street,
feeling the light air, wearing their light clothes, mothers talking
together, slowly pushing their prams. The waters have turned green in the
river and the sun is still high in the sky when you can hear the whistle
of the train leaving at 6.
There
is something changed : the winter cycle has gone by, here comes now
a new cycle of time, with the longer and longer days, the miracle
of nature dying to express itself through the many facets of life.
"Up
Helly Aa !” as they say in Shetland : the sun comes into the
summer cycle, right to the climax of the midnight sun. The standing stones
on the hills still keep an eye on the slow approaching lights of the
solstice. Then, there is, in the atmosphere, a feeling of precious, magic
moments : time doesn’t seem to pass... Maybe you’ll fancy going out at
midnight, it doesn’t matter, it’s still bright ! Going along Wick
River, right to the Fairy Hillock, maybe you’ll be entranced in this
quiet area where the legend is slowly coming back to your mind as a part
of the landscape.
That
is the special touch of Caithness : the blending of time and seasons
And because of that, the casual tourist will never feel the real Caithness...
Not the Caithness one can experience on a summer day, reflected in the
smiling faces of people who have endured a long hard winter with tenacity
and are now rejoicing in the sunshine.
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