Pulteneytown

Today dawned bright, although it is possible that the whisky drinkers, or some of them, did not feel quite as bright as they might have done....

After a very substantial breakfast, we headed out to wander around Pulteneytown, reading the abundant and very helpful information boards to learn something about the background to the town. I hadn't realised that Wick was effectively two towns. The original Wick, seen here in the background, and Pulteneytown which was partly a planned town conceived and constructed by Thomas Telford. There are also Lowry associations in Wick, so I've put a picture of the steps in the extras. It was all fascinating. The one disappointment was that the Heritage centre has been closed since October, so we didn't get to see more of the Johnston Collection, beyond those images adorning various boards around the town.

I could see why Lowry would appreciate the angular dark lines and forms of Pulteneytown, as they appealed greatly to me. It's hard to imagine what the streets were like when they were thronging with Herring girls and fishermen. It's been quite the change over the years.

I guess there was one other disappointment, namely that the High Street in particular has obviously taken a battering in the years since Mr A was there in 2014. Brexit, Covid, supermarkets and out of town shopping hollowing out the high street, the current economic crisis, the general basket case state of the UK economy. None of this has been kind to Wick and there are a lot of empty lots in the High Street in particular. None the less, the hotel was comfortable and warm (too warm, actually), the food there was excellent, and the people were uniformly really friendly. We stopped in Morag's cafe this morning for coffee and it was evident how strong the community is up here. It needs to be, in the circumstances. Anyway, at least the weather was better than it was for him in 2014. I've popped a picture of the main bridge in the morning light in the extras. [That leaves me with 1 extra remaining for the last 8 days of the year....]

Because of the Heritage Centre being closed, we decided on an earlier train (there not being that much choice anyway...), which meant that we travelled home in the light, which was also lovely. So we're back in Tain and warming the cottage up again!