Whaligoe

Whaligoe is famous for its 330 steps down to its tiny harbour. I say 330, but elsewhere 365 is claimed. I didn’t get the chance to count as the steps were closed for maintenance¹Wikipedia Contributors. “Whaligoe.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaligoe. Accessed 14 May 2021..

The harbour, squashed into the narrow Whale Geo, was inspected by Thomas Telford in 1786 who described it as a “terrible spot”. This was before the steps were built so I guess access would have been quite a scramble. (A “Geo” by the way is a narrow inlet of the sea with steep rocky sides²“Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: Geo.” Dsl.ac.uk, 2021, www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/geo. Accessed 14 May 2021. ‌.)

In 1808, there were seven boats working from Whaligoe, six years later fourteen, and by 1826, twenty four but decline then began to set in.

In August 1845, a terrible storm claimed the lives of two Whaligoe fishermen when “Seven boats were driven to pieces, and the sloop Regina, Macwilliam, of the Isle of Whithorn, with 70 barrels of herrings, was totally lost at the same place“³“Dreadful Storm And Loss Of Life.” Times, 28 Aug. 1845, p. 8+. The Times Digital Archive, link-gale-com.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/apps/doc/CS135952668/GDCS?u=ed_itw&sid=GDCS&xid=aad9e46c. Accessed 14 May 2021..

• 1
  Wikipedia Contributors. “Whaligoe.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaligoe. Accessed 14 May 2021.
• 2
  “Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: Geo.” Dsl.ac.uk, 2021, www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/geo. Accessed 14 May 2021. ‌
• 3
  “Dreadful Storm And Loss Of Life.” Times, 28 Aug. 1845, p. 8+. The Times Digital Archive, link-gale-com.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/apps/doc/CS135952668/GDCS?u=ed_itw&sid=GDCS&xid=aad9e46c. Accessed 14 May 2021.