Warth Hill Viewpoint

Warth Hill Viewpoint. . , For 5000 years people have settled in the land stretching before you, leaving signs of their burials in the chamibered cairns found on the island of Stroma and on the summit of Warth Hill that rises behind this point. It takes its name from the old Norse word “Vartha” meaning “to watch”. In the 9th century Vikings made their mark using this coast and the islands as centres from which to raid but they also settled down to make a life farming and fishing. Signs of this can be seen in coastal middens (refuge dumps) at Robbieshaven east of John o’ Groats. It was not until the 14th century that Caithness became free of Norwegian rule and became part of Scotland. , The staring windows of the houses on the now deserted island of Stroma tell of happier and busier times. Over seventy houses were island homes to a people whose lives centred around their knowledge of the sea. They were fishers and boat builders and the most skilled of them acted as pilots to see the sailing ships safely through the treacherous waters of the Pentland Firth. , The population of the island reached 300 in the early 1900's but as the fish they hunted moved out of reach of their small, boats their lifestyle became unsustainable. The last family left in the 1960's and nature has reclaimed the island. Thousands of seabirds breed on its cliffs and grasslands, amongst troops of the rare and tiny Scottish Primrose.