Mystery postbox found in ‘middle of nowhere’ on Caithness moors
Who would want a postbox situated on a barren patch of Caithness moorland with no nearby home connected with it?
That was the question local schoolteacher Chris Aitken asked himself when he came across the bizarre curiosity on the north side of Warth Hill near John O’Groats.
“Quite possibly one of the strangest things I've ever found,” said Chris.
“It’s situated just between Warth Hill quarry and the Giars area in the middle of the hill. There’s nobody within miles.”
When he posted an image on social media one of his followers said that “some years ago an ‘entrepreneur’ was selling small parcels of land, maybe 1 sq.mtr. at Camster and saying a laird title went with the purchase. Could this be the result of something similar?”.
“But why go to the trouble of the post box?” Chris wondered. The box has the title “Laird of John O’Groats” emblazoned on the front along with the name ‘Thorsten Sommer’ and an address in Hainburg, Germany.
A PIN number was left on the front to provide access to the interior and when opened it was empty except for a website address pasted on the back panel.
The website contains images of Mr Sommer wearing a Scottish saltire and brandishing a sword. He talks about his love of Scotland and even refers to himself as the “old Scotsman” at one point. A message was sent via the website to Mr Sommer to clear up some aspects of the mystery but he has not yet replied.
While the placement of the postbox could be connected to Mr Sommer’s purchase of a small parcel of land at John O’Groats, the sale of Scottish lairdships has been denounced as a scam with buyers obtaining no real title.
A family-run company called Highland Titles sells tiny plots of land so that buyers can become “Laird, Lord or Lady of the Glen” as part of what they call a “novelty gift scheme” and as “harmless fun”.
The area around Warth Hill has also been the scene of great police activity recently after the body of an unidentified man was discovered.