View Full Version : Wick/Thurso to become the Stars of the North
teenybash
14-Jul-08, 21:23
If you had free reign what would you plan for Wick and Thurso to turn them into to the towns that people and tourists would want to visit, stay a while and spend.
What are the improvements you would put in place and what facilities would you provide. ;)
NickInTheNorth
14-Jul-08, 22:00
A high quality dual carriageway from the central belt to Wick/Thurso, cheap flights, and an upgraded rail route that get people from London to Caithness in under 12 hours.
There is no need for any attractions, people just need to be able to get here in a sensible timescale, in comfort and at reasonable cost.
Great facilities for the surfers, more public toilets, and try to get more things for people to do at John O Groats, not slagging the place at all, I just think it has far more potential.
I've always said if I win the Lottery I'd buy the John O'Groats Hotel and turn it into the goldmine it could be. Can't understand why no-one seems to be able to make a go of it.
northener
14-Jul-08, 22:34
A high quality dual carriageway from the central belt to Wick/Thurso, cheap flights, and an upgraded rail route that get people from London to Caithness in under 12 hours.
There is no need for any attractions, people just need to be able to get here in a sensible timescale, in comfort and at reasonable cost.
Absolutely, it is travel and distance that restrict us more than anything else.
Absolutely, it is travel and distance that restrict us more than anything else.
And also restricts crime in the county as well. One of the many benefits of living here in lovely Caithness.
Bobinovich
14-Jul-08, 23:32
That's a catch 22 situation without a doubt.
IMO Caithness needs to sell itself as a whole as Orkney does. Unfortunately Visit Scotland are only interested in the Highlands as a whole - which is a large region to promote effectively.
I know that many/most small tourism-related businesses (B&Bs, visitor attractions, etc.) produce their own literature and websites, all at great individual cost. However, if they clubbed together and promoted the county as a group, it could do so far more effectively.
They could produce a small booklet and single website with everything the area has to offer, so that potential visitors can plan a complete stay from just one source of information. Hopefully this would keep visitors in Caithness instead of many just treating the place as a necessary stop off point when heading to & from Orkney.
If you had free reign what would you plan for Wick and Thurso to turn them into to the towns that people and tourists would want to visit, stay a while and spend.
What are the improvements you would put in place and what facilities would you provide. ;)
Ach, we'll start with abig Asda store!!
teenybash
15-Jul-08, 12:20
I would love to see my local town of Wick tidied up. The empty shop units re let and the 'eyesore' that is now painted an ugly blue bulldozed and the whole town made to look welcoming, inviting and interesting not only to tourists passing through but, the local folks aswell.
Both Wick and Thurso could be absolute gems with a bit of effort.
John O'Groats could be fabulous with life injected into the hotel.
Caithness is such a unique part of Scotland but, seems to be forgotten and shunted to the side. Shame :~(
I'd extend the tourist season as nothing seems to get going until May. Things need to be open from March onwards as there are tourists around then, and we've had decent weather early on in the year for the last couple of years.
As previously posted Caithness needs to up it's game with selling its self.
Bobinovich
15-Jul-08, 15:37
A company which recently started, Pentland Tours (http://www.pentlandtours.co.uk), have put together a number of tours of the area which take visitors around some lesser known local gems, as well as the more obvious ones. They go off the beaten track a bit to show the sights which may be missed in a run-of-the-mill tour of the county.
The Government should concentrate on Wick only and let Thurso drift back to it's former status as a wee, unimportant village before it was used as a testing ground for experimental nuclear power.
Ach, we'll start with abig Asda store!!
Don't think a supermarket would be much of an attraction to visitors.
A company which recently started, Pentland Tours (http://www.pentlandtours.co.uk), have put together a number of tours of the area which take visitors around some lesser known local gems, as well as the more obvious ones. They go off the beaten track a bit to show the sights which may be missed in a run-of-the-mill tour of the county.
Saw this in another thread - looked interesting!
The Government should concentrate on Wick only and let Thurso drift back to it's former status as a wee, unimportant village before it was used as a testing ground for experimental nuclear power.
Ouch!
Ouch!The whole of Caithness was a part of this experiment and would be classed as collateral damage in the event of an accident.
My apologies to Thurso folk but you seemd to be the most expendable in the Government's eyes.
A TBH apology - I am havin it framed and hung in the newly refurbished town hall when it is finished! ;)
I must say though that on a recent visit to Caithness I saw parts of it through new eyes and I think the county has a lot to offer! I don't mind that the roads leading up to it are maybe not the best - that adds to the charm. I do love driving and I do enjoy motorways and dual carriageways but hey we can't do that to everywhere.
A TBH apology - I am havin it framed and hung in the newly refurbished town hall when it is finished! ;)
I must say though that on a recent visit to Caithness I saw parts of it through new eyes and I think the county has a lot to offer! I don't mind that the roads leading up to it are maybe not the best - that adds to the charm. I do love driving and I do enjoy motorways and dual carriageways but hey we can't do that to everywhere.Well maybe if they didn't re-designate the A9 to wick then it would have been afforded the maintainance it needs
As it is the road to Thurso is classed as the A9 and who really in the great scheme of things rates Thurso as anything more than a stop off on the ourney to Orkney?
Melancholy Man
15-Jul-08, 18:05
As it is the road to Thurso is classed as the A9 and who really in the great scheme of things rates Thurso as anything more than a stop off on the ourney to Orkney?
Surfers? Prospective invaders? Whereas there's no real opportunity to land battle-craft at Wick (the pipe-fabrication yard at Keiss, forgot it's name, could float out baffles into the water), Thurso beach provides an excellent opportunity to launch an immediate occupation of a major local population centre.
As for the original question, maybe a co-operative arrangement with other cinemas, especially arty ones and those from before 2008/7, and All Stars to bring in less well-known films. And get The Hulk off. Even without the co-op, just get it off.
Invisible
15-Jul-08, 19:56
I know its not what the county needs or would particularly want but perhaps a Butlin's/Center Parks resort could bring in the tourists. I think they are talking bout one in Orkney. I personally would not agree with this but it was just a thought, what do the rest of you think?
I would think that Wick needs its own ferry depot/port so that tourists can access the town better than if they had to travel from Groats or Scrabster or Gills incurring more costs that way.
Thurso has the bowling and the cinema (fun stuff for the kids) but Wick has the better shops.
What do you think orgers?
percy toboggan
15-Jul-08, 19:58
The discerning visit you already.
Stuff the rest.
Surfers? Prospective invaders? Whereas there's no real opportunity to land battle-craft at Wick (the pipe-fabrication yard at Keiss, forgot it's name, could float out baffles into the water), Thurso beach provides an excellent opportunity to launch an immediate occupation of a major local population centre.
As for the original question, maybe a co-operative arrangement with other cinemas, especially arty ones and those from before 2008/7, and All Stars to bring in less well-known films. And get The Hulk off. Even without the co-op, just get it off.Thurso is famous for it's radiation levels, that's a tourist attraction right there.;)
Kevin Milkins
15-Jul-08, 21:53
Some freinds came to visit us last year from South Wales.
I am not sure what picture was painted for them of the far north ,but it was not what they expected.
They could not get over how good the roads are up here and with little trafic on them as well.
I think they expected farm tracks with grass growing in the middle of the lane.
The far north is not what I expected either.
If the development of the tourist industry is what the people of the north would like ,I feel that when people come here with money to spend , they need to go away and with the feeling that the trip represented good value for money.
In the past the warmer climate of abroad has been a big pull , but with a change in the economic climate all that could change.
teenybash
15-Jul-08, 22:13
Some freinds came to visit us last year from South Wales.
I am not sure what picture was painted for them of the far north ,but it was not what they expected.
They could not get over how good the roads are up here and with little trafic on them as well.
I think they expected farm tracks with grass growing in the middle of the lane.
The far north is not what I expected either.
If the development of the tourist industry is what the people of the north would like ,I feel that when people come here with money to spend , they need to go away and with the feeling that the trip represented good value for money.
In the past the warmer climate of abroad has been a big pull , but with a change in the economic climate all that could change.
I think you have hit the nail spot on...............Caithness is a lovely place.:Razz
If it deters a great many people from settling in Caithness then that can only be a good thing.
Nothing to see there, move along.;)
Amy-Winehouse
15-Jul-08, 23:15
The Government should concentrate on Wick only and let Thurso drift back to it's former status as a wee, unimportant village before it was used as a testing ground for experimental nuclear power.
Un PC post of the day, but tbh TBH it was rather funny old chap [lol][lol]
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