Caithness and its famous slabs

Many of our city centres now have pedestrian walkways which are paved in an expensive stone surface called Caithness Slabs. The slabs are renowned for their durability and riven appearance in a grey or black with brown hues colouring that is exclusive to the Caithness stone.

Not surprisingly, it comes from Caithness which is covered in the stuff. It is cheap as chips in the area and has been used for anything from building house walls and slate roofs, to making field walls and road side kerbs.

Here are some photographs of the slabs in their natural state around the Dunnet Bay - Castleton Area. It is easy see why they are used and made, by splitting into thin sections then cutting to slab shapes.