Enjoying the Cullen Coast

13/10/24

Banff, Canada, is somewhere I remember fondly. Many years ago I went with my sister, brother in law and *ahem* ex husband. We had an amazing time, spending 10 days skiing, skating, eating and drinking. It was my first skiing holiday and I loved it.

A disappointing day in Banff

Banff, Scotland, didn’t fill me with the same enthusiasm. Which was entirely my fault. We decided to forgo a bike ride, in favour of a walk along the River Devoran because of forecast strong winds. Winds that didn’t happen.

The walk itself was quite dull. The river was often out of sight and the walk was mostly on tracks rather than paths. We didn’t visit Duff House, just walk through the wooded grounds, but we did pass by the mausoleum which provided a feature to explore.  The supposed high point of the walk, at the Bridge of Alvah, was underwhelming when seen from above, and the fishing platforms beneath the bridge were not welcoming to walkers.

We did stop for lunch at the cafe above the Spotty Bag Shop, which was a nice spot for lunch with views across Banff Bridge which connects the towns of Banff and Macduff. I ended up feeling I should have given Banff more of a chance, but was happy to move on and leave my disappointment behind.

Bridge connecting Macduff and Banff

Our overnight parking spot in Banff

Moving onto Cullen

In contrast, our next stop in Cullen was one of our favourite. Cullen has got a motorhome stopover which has to be pre-booked online because entry is controlled by number plate recognition. In winter it is a very reasonable £10 a night, including services. We did find it impossible to get our back end over the grey waste disposal though as it was tight against a fence and on the wrong side for Bertie.

Cullen parking from above

We couldn’t get in the stopover until noon so we drove to the west beach car park, passing between the pillars of the railway viaduct that stands high above the fishing cottages of Cullen Seatown.

Our morning’s activity was a walk to the nearby village of Portknockie where Paul had spied an open air pool in the harbour. We packed up our swimming stuff into our rucksacks and headed out onto the coastpath, a beautiful stretch of convoluted rock sculpted into arches and caves.

This included the well known ‘Bow Fiddle rock’, and while I can understand the thought behind it’s name, it looks more like some resting alien sea creature to me.

We got to Portknockie where the harbour is deep in the arms of the cliffs. The pool turned out to be of the paddling variety, but the waters of the harbour were clear. Every time I go in the sea for a swim I feel completely reinvigorated, it definitely dispelled any lingering moodiness from our day in Banff.

Paul swimming at Portknockie

We headed back to Cullen by taking the steep exit from the harbour and up through Portknockie where we found the along the cycle path that follows a disused railway. This ends up on the viaduct we had previously driven under and has excellent views across the coast.

Back in Cullen we tried to find a cafe or pub to have some Cullen Skink in it’s eponymous town. Everywhere was incredibly busy, so we ended up taking a can of Baxter’s soup and loaf of bread back to Bertie. We consoled ourselves with the fact that the Baxter’s factory is just down the road so could be considered to be reasonably local, that and the considerably cheaper price.

A Walk to Portsoy

The following morning we decided to walk to Portsoy along the coast path, heading east directly out of the motorhome parking area. The path in this direction was initially just as interesting as the walk to Portknockie with rocks at oddly contradictory angles forming small bays and cliffs. We twisted and turned along the lower section of the cliffs until we were finally forced up onto the flat grass on the clifftops.

Apart from Findlater castle, a ruin on a craggy outcrop, the next part of the walk was pretty dull. At Findlater we joined a lot of people who were clambering about in the remains of the walls and rooms that clung precipitously to the cliffs. It was obviously a popular spot for a weekend visit and an instagram photo or two.

Things got a little more interesting again as we approached the wide bay at Sandend. We stopped for some lunch while we watched surfers getting ready to tackle the waves. We’d been recommended Sandend by some friends who have relatives who own a house there. I can see that it would be a lovely spot for a holiday in the summer.

From Sandend we continued to Portsoy which is a really attractive harbour town with old warehouses still standing by it’s two harbours. It’s been used for filming and you can see why, with the clusters of historic buildings, narrow roads and stone walls giving away little evidence of the modern world. The recent re-make of Whisky Galore was filmed here, and it was turned into the French overseas territory of Miquelon for Peaky Blinders.

After tea and cake in the Port House cafe, on the ground floor of one of the warehouses, we made our way up through the town where we waited for the bus while families walked past us with ice-creams. We later realised that we were near one of the most popular ice-cream vendors in the area. And it did look delicious. If only we hadn’t just had cake.

We couldn’t resist fish and chips when we got back to Cullen. It has to be done every now and again.