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 Lybster Harbour |
You need to turn off the A9 to reach the heart of Lybster. But unless you've got a ferry to catch, you really should take the time to explore this attractive village and its even more striking harbour.
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The first thing of note is the enormous width of the main street. It seems unlikely that the original builders had eventual conversion to a dual carriageway in mind. But even this could scarcely take up all the available space in a street that seems to dwarf the lines of substantial stone buildings that flank it.
 Lybster Pier |
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 Fishing Boats |
But to find the reason for Lybster's existence you need to pass through the village and turn right towards its seaward end, then descend the steep and narrow road to Lybster's harbour.
It was here that in 1810 a small wooden pier was built to allow fishing vessels to land. That was replaced in the 1830s by the extensive stone harbour you see today. By then Lybster was at the centre of the herring boom, and for a while it was home to Scotland's third largest fishing fleet.
Hard to believe today, perhaps, but there is still a lot of evidence of fishing in terms of the boats moored in the harbour and the lobster pots and other fishing gear piled around it. A really superb working harbour in a stunning setting between flanking grassy headlands.
Alongside the harbour at Lybster is one of the area's major attractions: the nicely restored buildings housing Waterlines, an exhibition centre complete with displays about the area's history, flora, fauna and geology. As you'd expect given its location Waterlines gives particular focus to Lybster's past as a herring port.
In the wider area around Lybster, there's a lot of interest generated by an earlier stage in its history. Dotted around the landscape, particularly inland from Lybster, are a range of prehistoric archeological sites including the Grey Cairns of Camster and the Hill o' Many Stanes. Both these are signposted from the A9, and both worth the detour.
