27th September 2026
It has been a busy week for news in Caithness, with stories ranging from the Wick and East Caithness by-election to a spectacular lorry fire, disruption on the A9 and railway, new flights to Wick and some important developments around Dounreay and Scrabster Harbour.
Taken individually, some of these stories may appear to have little connection with each other. Taken together, however, they provide an interesting snapshot of the challenges and opportunities facing the far north.
The Wick and East Caithness by-election is now entering its final days, with voting taking place on 1 October. Postal votes have been issued and attention will increasingly turn towards the candidates and the issues that matter to voters in the ward. The count is expected on 2 October.
Away from politics, one of the more interesting stories of the week came from Scrabster Harbour, where chief executive Ryan Maclean spoke about his own experience of leaving Caithness to build a career before returning to the area. His story highlights an issue that has been discussed for many years: how does Caithness create enough worthwhile careers to persuade more young people to stay or eventually return?
Scrabster itself is part of the answer. The harbour is increasingly involved in fishing, cruise tourism, energy and other North Sea activity and describes itself as a gateway to the north. Its position gives Caithness an important piece of economic infrastructure at a time when the local economy is looking for opportunities beyond the traditional industries.
The question of employment is particularly important because of the continuing importance of Dounreay. A recent economic impact assessment estimated that the site supported £179 million of economic activity in Caithness and North Sutherland during 2024/25, including 2,624 full-time equivalent jobs. That is estimated to represent around 23% of all jobs across Caithness and North Sutherland.
Those figures help explain why the future of Dounreay matters so much to the local economy. Decommissioning will continue for many years, but the challenge is to ensure that the skills, businesses and employment generated by the nuclear industry can increasingly be transferred into new activities.
There was also an unusual reminder this week that Dounreay is not simply a story about its future. Its famous 'golf ball' reactor building is still being maintained, including work to deal with corrosion, because the difficult process of removing what remains inside the reactor has not yet been completed. The building may eventually disappear from the Caithness skyline, but that day is still some way off.
Meanwhile, Dounreay has been preparing for a major emergency exercise which will involve the temporary closure of the A9. The exercise is designed to test the response to a simulated incident at the site. While such exercises are largely routine from an emergency-planning perspective, they also demonstrate just how important the A9 is to the area.
That dependence on the A9 was demonstrated again this week when a crash caused disruption at Dunbeath. For Caithness, the problem is not simply that accidents happen. There are relatively few alternative routes when the main road is closed, meaning that an incident which might be an inconvenience elsewhere can become a much bigger problem for the far north.
The same vulnerability applies to rail and air travel. Railway problems and disruption affecting Wick and Inverness airports have again provided reminders that Caithness's connections with the rest of Scotland are not always as dependable as people would like.
There was, however, some more positive aviation news this week. Direct charter flights to Wick from Aberdeen and Glasgow have been introduced, offering visitors a way of reaching the Caithness coast in around two hours. The service is aimed at leisure travel and provides another example of businesses looking for ways to make the far north more accessible.
It is an interesting contrast. Caithness can still experience disruption to its conventional transport links while, at the same time, new private and charter services are looking for opportunities in the local tourism market.
Tourism has another potential opportunity in the Flow Country. The partnership behind the Flow Country's World Heritage status has received a Prosper award, describing it as evidence of increasing recognition of environmental stewardship and strong community support across Caithness and Sutherland.
The challenge now is turning recognition into lasting local economic benefit. World Heritage status can attract visitors and strengthen the area's identity, but the longer-term question is how much of that additional spending reaches local businesses and communities.
There was also plenty of more immediate local news this week. A spectacular lorry fire in Wick attracted attention after the vehicle caught fire and what appeared to be an explosion or fireball was captured on video. The driver was subsequently praised for his actions in helping keep the public safe. No one was seriously injured.
Wick Academy also has a new manager following Gary Manson's departure. The new manager, Ewan McElroy, made a winning start, with Wick recording a 4–3 victory over Lossiemouth. Sport may not normally feature prominently in economic discussions, but clubs such as Wick Academy remain an important part of the community fabric of the town.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this week's news is that it does not present a simple picture of either decline or revival.
There are obvious difficulties. Transport links remain vulnerable, the population and skills questions have not gone away, and Caithness continues to face the challenge of being a long distance from the main centres of population and employment.
But there are also substantial assets.
Dounreay remains a major economic force. Scrabster provides a strategically important harbour. Wick Airport provides an air connection which businesses and visitors depend upon. The Flow Country offers an internationally recognised environmental asset. Tourism continues to look for new ways of bringing visitors north.
And perhaps most importantly, there are people who have left Caithness, built careers elsewhere and then chosen to return.
The future of Caithness will not depend on replacing one Dounreay with another single large employer. It is more likely to depend on whether the area can build a mixture of businesses, skilled employment, tourism, energy, transport and environmental opportunities that gives young people genuine reasons to stay — and gives those who have left a reason to come home.
This week's news provides plenty of evidence that the ingredients are there. The harder question is how successfully Caithness can turn those ingredients into a stronger and more diverse economy for the years ahead.