The ideal introduction to Wick, this walk gives grand views over the working harbour before following the open coast to visit the Trinkie Pool, a fine natural arch, and the dramatically situated Old Castle of Wick.
Clear paths or minor roads throughout; care is needed near the Castle as there are precipitous drops into the sea.
Wick is well served by buses and trains.
Wick town centre.
Begin from the car park in the centre of Wick, situated on the north bank of the river. Walk past the Poundstretcher entrance and follow an alleyway up to the A99 road. Cross the road on the crossing and head left a few steps to where the High Street goes off to the right. Follow the High Street and at the far end turn right to cross the bridge over the river, and then turn left onto Martha Terrace to reach the busy, industrial harbour. Follow the road as it curves round two small docks.
When a road slopes up away from the harbour there is a choice of routes. You can continue past the warehouses and boats along the rest of the harbour before following the Quarry Path to climb up to the cliff top, but perhaps a better route is up the road sloping uphill (with a footpath sign for Trinkie Pool) to Pulteney Town, the old residential part of Wick. Up the hill, turn left by Pulteney Town post office onto Smith Road. The road has an open green space on its left side with a pavilion building and great views of Wick and its harbour.
At the far end of this space, go ahead at the staggered junction to reach the tall and prominent memorial. This commemorates James Bremner, the naval architect who built Wick Harbour. Continue along the cliff-top path with views down to the old Quarry with its detached boss of rock. The path curves right to join a minor road; turn left along this. The lower, Quarry path route from the harbour rejoins from the left beyond the large building. Continue on the minor road which curves round to the right. There are views down to the Trinkie Pool - a free-to-use open air swimming lido which was restored in 2021.
Continue ahead to the end of the public road, where there is a parking area. Go through the kissing gate and follow the grassy path towards the castle. Keep left at a fork and emerge onto another track and a parking area. Pass to the right of the coastal 'mound' to reach the back of the geo adjacent to the castle itself.
There is a superb view of the Castle, which is almost separated from the land by two very deep sea-cut trenches known as geos. The well-made path off to the right here is the return route, but first it's worth viewing the castle area. The Old Castle of Wick, which was built in the twelfth century by the Earl of Caithness, Harald Maddadson, making it one of the oldest in Scotland. Half-Scot and half Orcadian, Harald's castle enjoys a very strong defensive position and is accessed across a narrow strip of land. The square keep can be entered at the far side; joist holes in the walls and remains of fireplaces indicate the floors above.
It's well worth detouring around 400m further along the grassy coastal path for a view of the Brig o' Stack - an impressive natural arch. Afterwards return to the back of the deep geo by the castle, and take the well-made footpath that heads away from the coast with fences on both sides. This bears right at another of the strange concrete seats associated with the rifle range; when it reaches a junction continue straight ahead between the bushes to eventually reach the A99 opposite a shopping centre.
Turn right here, passing alongside a large cemetery. The quickest route back is to keep following the A99 back into the centre of Wick and the bridge over the river; alternatively you could turn right onto a lane between two parts of the cemetery, then turning left to head through a residential area back to the harbour.
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