Berriedale Patrol

It is believed that the primary target for the Patrol was the Berriedale Braes. The main road from the north drops down 13% over 1.3 km before composing Berridale Water and climbing sharply again. In wartime the road was considerably narrower and included hairpin bends. It was an ideal point to hold up any force landing to the north. The road had already been fitted with a flame trap, with copper pipes running from a fuel tank near the church. They were perforated every few feet. Pulling a cable near the Smiddy, home to the estate blacksmith, would pour fuel on the first German convoy through and the forge would provide a fire to ignite this. After this the Patrol would have to set charges on the bridge or at other points to further delay a German force. There were very few regular forces in Caithness and the purpose of the Patrols was to delay any German advance until reinforcements could arise. It might seem an odd location to expect a landing, but the fear was German troops sailing from Norway as the Vikings had done centuries before.

The railway line runs far inland at this northerly point due to the difficult terrain. Other Patrols were closer to deal with this.