Twelve centuries have passed since the Norsemen came to Caithness, and the Viking Olaf surveyed his lands from the slope which still bears his name. The farm of Oliclett still stands above the rich grass fields to which he came, and gave his name, and from which he could stand and marvel at the broad sweep of the Yarrows Hills, and the mysterious tombs of the Neolithic farmers who settled many thousands of years before, and who first tilled the fertile ground.

As the summer passed, and the crops were gathered in, the wild goose came, as now, in staggering numbers, filling the cut stubble fields, and rending the air with their raucous call. The wild goose was hunted, but was also domesticated, probably long before Olaf made his appearance into the landscape, the long hours of summer daylight greening the fields to a lush sward of clover and grass and the birds grew plump on the fields. Then, as now, the final fattening before the winter was on the grain stubbles, ready for the winter feasts.


Original bill including grass-reared geese from Oliclett 1872

Caithness is one of the few places where sheaves are still set to dry in the fields, and the grains dropped by the old-fashioned binders were always used to feed stock after the sheaves were finally stacked in the big beehive-shaped "screws" which are still to be seen, keeping the seed for next season, as has probably been done for thousands of years. Surplus would have been salted down or smoked for later use, and this tradition became a famous Caithness speciality, known simply as a Caithness Goose, and currently being researched and developed exclusively by the Caithness Goose Company. Availability will be announced shortly.