Sinclair's Bay
This is Sinclair's Bay in Caithness on the East coast of Scotland, about 10 miles south of John O’ Groats and 7 miles north of Wick. The Sinclairs are a Highland Scottish clan who held lands in the north of Scotland, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians. The chiefs of the clan were the Barons of Roslin and later the Earls of Orkney. No certain record exists but it is likely that the Sinclairs originally came from Saint-Clair in Normandy.
Caithness is an area of about 712 square miles. As you can see the land is flat, in contrast to most of the remainder of the North of Scotland. Until the latter part of the 20th century when large areas were planted in conifers, this level profile was rendered still more striking by the almost total absence of forest. Basically, it’s a land of open, rolling farmland, moorland and scattered settlements.
Although not obvious in my photo, those castle ruins on the left are perched on a sheer cliff. That’s the old Keiss Castle. I say the old one because that ‘new’ building further inland glories in the name Keiss 'castle' too, although it is really a large and elegant Scottish Baronial house built in the late 1700s.
There was a small fortification here during the late medieval period, but in the last years of the 16th century the 5th Earl of Caithness built that castle that is now in ruins, being four storeys high, plus an attic level and a vaulted basement. There do not appear to be any defensive structures on the landward side, suggesting that Keiss was built purely with an eye to a seaborn attack. I guess that’s not surprising since this part of the coastline was a favourite landing place of raiders and pirates from Norway and Denmark. Local people lit a beacon on one of the few hills when raiders were spotted. However, the lack of land defences may have been a mistake. In 1623 when George Sinclair defied King James VI (I of England) over something, and the King not being amused, dispatched Sir Robert Gordon to sort him out. The rebellious Earl provisioned his castles for a siege [he owned two others by the sea], perhaps then realised that the King’s army were advancing by land, so he caught the next available ferry to Orkney. [OK, I made that bit up, but he did go by sea to Orkney somehow]. All three castles surrendered without a fight to Sir Robert but were eventually returned to the Earl's son, presumably on condition he behaved himself.
World War II saw Keiss resume a military function as, despite its remote location, the defence of Caithness became a defence priority. The coastline's proximity to the Orkney Isles - where the large anchorage at Scapa Flow was the wartime home to the larger warships of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet - made the coastline strategically important. Furthermore, with the German occupation of Norway in April 1940, Caithness suddenly seemed particularly vulnerable. The long flat beach was the recipient of a large minefield - allegedly the UK's longest in 1940 - augmented with anti-tank obstacles plus machine-gun pillboxes spaced at 400 yard intervals. Substantial land forces were based in the area with the grounds of Keiss Castle being converted into a military camp. My old boss complained to me that he spent most of his National Service after WW2 digging holes in this area…..
Sinclair's Bay
This is Sinclair's Bay in Caithness on the East coast of Scotland, about 10 miles south of John O’ Groats and 7 miles north of Wick. The Sinclairs are a Highland Scottish clan who held lands in the north of Scotland, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians. The chiefs of the clan were the Barons of Roslin and later the Earls of Orkney. No certain record exists but it is likely that the Sinclairs originally came from Saint-Clair in Normandy.
Caithness is an area of about 712 square miles. As you can see the land is flat, in contrast to most of the remainder of the North of Scotland. Until the latter part of the 20th century when large areas were planted in conifers, this level profile was rendered still more striking by the almost total absence of forest. Basically, it’s a land of open, rolling farmland, moorland and scattered settlements.
Although not obvious in my photo, those castle ruins on the left are perched on a sheer cliff. That’s the old Keiss Castle. I say the old one because that ‘new’ building further inland glories in the name Keiss 'castle' too, although it is really a large and elegant Scottish Baronial house built in the late 1700s.
There was a small fortification here during the late medieval period, but in the last years of the 16th century the 5th Earl of Caithness built that castle that is now in ruins, being four storeys high, plus an attic level and a vaulted basement. There do not appear to be any defensive structures on the landward side, suggesting that Keiss was built purely with an eye to a seaborn attack. I guess that’s not surprising since this part of the coastline was a favourite landing place of raiders and pirates from Norway and Denmark. Local people lit a beacon on one of the few hills when raiders were spotted. However, the lack of land defences may have been a mistake. In 1623 when George Sinclair defied King James VI (I of England) over something, and the King not being amused, dispatched Sir Robert Gordon to sort him out. The rebellious Earl provisioned his castles for a siege [he owned two others by the sea], perhaps then realised that the King’s army were advancing by land, so he caught the next available ferry to Orkney. [OK, I made that bit up, but he did go by sea to Orkney somehow]. All three castles surrendered without a fight to Sir Robert but were eventually returned to the Earl's son, presumably on condition he behaved himself.
World War II saw Keiss resume a military function as, despite its remote location, the defence of Caithness became a defence priority. The coastline's proximity to the Orkney Isles - where the large anchorage at Scapa Flow was the wartime home to the larger warships of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet - made the coastline strategically important. Furthermore, with the German occupation of Norway in April 1940, Caithness suddenly seemed particularly vulnerable. The long flat beach was the recipient of a large minefield - allegedly the UK's longest in 1940 - augmented with anti-tank obstacles plus machine-gun pillboxes spaced at 400 yard intervals. Substantial land forces were based in the area with the grounds of Keiss Castle being converted into a military camp. My old boss complained to me that he spent most of his National Service after WW2 digging holes in this area…..