Whaligoe Steps


At Ulbster, 5 miles north of Lybster, this staircase cut into the cliff provides access to a tiny natural harbour, with an ideal grassy picnic spot, ringed by vertical cliffs and echoing with the cackle of nesting fulmars. The path begins at the end of the minor road opposite the road signposted ‘Cairn of Get’. There's a cafe at the top.


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Nearby attractions

1. Cairn o’Get

0.7 MILES

The Cairn o’Get, a prehistoric burial cairn, is signposted off the road in Ulbster. There's a mile of boggy walking from the car park.

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Two miles beyond the Camster turn-off on the A99 is a curious, fan-shaped arrangement of 22 rows of small stones, probably dating to around 2000 BC…

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4. Waterlines

5.85 MILES

At the picturesque harbour in Lybster, this museum has a downstairs cafe, and an exhibition on the town's fishing heritage above. There's a smokehouse…

5. Old Wick Castle

6.1 MILES

A path leads a mile south from town to the ruins of 12th-century Old Wick Castle, with the spectacular cliffs of the Brough and the Brig, as well as Gote…

6. Old Pulteney

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7. Wick Heritage Centre

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Tracking the rise and fall of the herring industry, this great town museum displays everything from fishing equipment to complete herring boats. It’s…

8. Achavanich Stone Setting

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Six miles to the northwest of Lybster and a mile off the A9, these 30 standing stones date from around 2000 BC. The crumbling monuments still capture the…

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