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...and it's never too late to visit Findlater!
After three weeks away from the hills to nurse his badly bashed rib, Kevin decided he was ready for some exercise with his rucksack on. I didn't want to push him too far though, we didn't know how his sore ribcage would survive several hours of intense exercise. So no hills just yet (weather was too sh**e for serious hillwalking anyway) but a nice walk along the cliffs. We had been to Cullen and Findlater Castle many times before (we walked the whole Moray Coast Trail over a couple of years in stages) so this wouldn't be anything new for us, but this is a lovely stretch of coast, always worth a re-visit.
Forecast was dry in the morning, wind and passing showers in the afternoon. We started early to take advantage of the better weather earlier in the day. Did the usual route from the village of Cullen, following the cliff path to the castle, returning the same way. Our GPS lost the signal while we were exploring the ruins, resulting in some strange straight lines on the map - apologies for that. Apparently, it only takes an old ruin to defeat modern technology
NOTE: the path east of the castle (between Findlater ruins and Sandend Bay) is closed due to landslide.
The morning in Cullen was lovely but we knew this was just the silence before the storm. The tide was out, a lot of sand to wander around:
We didn't waste time to play in sand; left the car at the large car park by the Three Kings and walked east past the harbour:
The harbour in Cullen is tidal; in the background, the famous viaducts of Cullen.
There are four of them: Cullen Seafield Street Viaduct, Cullen Castle Street Viaduct, Cullen North Deskford Street Bridge and Cullen Burn Viaduct. They were built in 1884-1886 and served until 1968 when the North Coast Railway Line was closed (and dismantled), but the impressive constructions still stand today and are used as walkways. One can't imagine Cullen without them!
More info about the viaducts on
RAILSCOT webpage.
Leaving the village behind, we followed a well maintained path along the bottom of the cliffs. The coast is very rugged here:
We spent some time watching and photographing local birds. Out of breeding season, they are less frequent but we still spotted a few groups, mostly gulls and cormorants, on the rocks just off shore:
The path has been easy to follow so far, but it was just about to become bumpy:
Logie Head rocks busy with rock climbers!
Some impressive coastal rocks just past Logie Head:
We took a short detour to a small shingle beach. The sea was still quiet and we wondered if the forecast bad front would arrive at all...
- Peace and tranquility...
The next stage was...ehmmm... a bit overgrown. Kevin nearly got lost
- The bracken jungle
Once out of the high bracken, we emerged on the West Sands beach. This is a lovely spot; the sand is very yellow and when tide is low, one can play hide and seek amongst the rocks:
We spend a few minutes on the beach, but I was eager to get to the castle before the weather broke, so we went for broke
It required some more heather bashing and balancing on muddy path, but we are used to such inconveniences...
West Sands from above:
The path climbed up the cliffs and after another half a mile, it reached Findlater Castle. Or what is left of this mighty fortress today:
I described the ruins of Findlater and the castle history in my TR about
Bin Of Cullen so I'm not going to repeat myself. Despite the castle being in the final stage of falling to pieces, it is one of my favourite ruins. Maybe because visiting this place always feels like balancing on a thin line?
The castle is situated on a very rocky promontory and the path descending to the ruins has been badly eroded in recent years. If you decided to visit the ruins, please do so with care. The soil here is muddy and sticky, so it is very easy to go A over T on the path
The surviving part of the main building:
The same structure seen from the opposite side:
Bedroom with a view... This wall is all that's left of the upper half of the main building:
Descending into the guts of the ruins is not recommended... but try to stop us
It is possible (with care) to scramble down to the bottom level:
The cellars are dark and damp... Not a place a Panther would like to live in...
...but I didn't mind a quick exploration:
The easiest way out is through a crack in the wall:
...which leads to the steep slopes at the bottom of the structure:
We descended to the small shingle beach below the ruins for a hot cuppa and a cookie; the tide was coming in slowly bu the forecast stormy front was nowhere to be seen (or heard).
Findlater from below:
Findlater Castle seen from the beach near Logie Head:
Weather was just about to turn, so w retraced our steps back to Cullen, taking more photos on the way back. The rock climbers still occupied their favourite spot:
Showers passing north of the coast:
The rain arrived just as we returned to the village; we timed it right! Kevin said he could feel his bashed ribs a bit after several hours of carrying his rucksack, but he could definitely see the improvement. His recovery was just a matter of time.
A week later he passed the ultimate test, walking up a Corbett in Torridon. He should be fully fit for the winter season