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A gypsy cream, whale's mouth, Cullen skink kind of day

A gypsy cream, whale's mouth, Cullen skink kind of day


Postby dogplodder » Fri Nov 12, 2021 2:17 pm

Route description: Buckie to Cullen

Date walked: 02/12/2020

Distance: 12 km

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A few days after walking from Buckie to Cullen I uploaded the photos but decided not to post anything until we had completed the trail. Then travel restrictions tightened and we couldn't travel as far as Moray and when travel restrictions eased Moray was still off limits, due to an infection spike connected with Elgin Academy. We did manage to fit in the section from Burghead to Lossiemouth but by late spring our eyes were on the hills again... And now it's mid November and we've still not completed the Moray Coast Trail. Gordie puts us to shame doing the whole stretch in one long day.

Anyway back to Buckie to Cullen, another day Pete had kindly agreed to be our driver, to save taking two cars.. The plan was for him to drop us off in Buckie, join us for coffee in Portessie and we'd meet up in Cullen before going somewhere for food together. We started in Cluny Square and headed east along the A942 from where we could see over the rooftops to the harbour.

Cluny harbour
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The overall impression I have of Buckie is of plain granite grey houses, grey rocks and not much green. Its defence will be that this is typical of NE fishing communities, but we found more colour in Findochty with white painted houses and brightly coloured boats in the harbour.

Looking back to Buckie
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House on the edge
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We had arranged to meet Pete for coffee in Portessie, so we could leave Keira briefly in the car (something I wouldn't do in the summer) if it didn't welcome dogs.

Bijou by the Sea, overlooking Strathlene Sands, Portessie
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He had a fruit scone and Moira and I shared a very good gypsy cream. It was a clean place with good coffee and home bakes and we would go there again. Duly replenished we left Pete to do some nostalgic wandering round Portessie where he spent two weeks as a student, picked up the dog and set off past the former Strathlene House Hotel along the coast for Cullen.

We scanned the rocks for seals but didn't see any
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Is gorse blooming in December a sign of global warming?
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The clifftop path at the edge of the golf course gave good views of the rocky coastline.

Sandy bay
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Sandy bay from other side
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My granny used to talk about going to Findochty but until the day of this walk I'd never been. Its history dates as far back as the 15th century, and in the 18th and 19th centuries it expanded into a busy fishing port. Today the harbour hosts small fishing craft and privately owned cruisers, and is a great place to spot dolphins and porpoise. I thought it an attractive village with its white church keeping watch from its grassy mound above the harbour.

Findochty
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West from Findochty
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A ship called Dignity
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Findochty harbour
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A tribute to the fishing community
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Rock stacks
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The dog was with us when we left Portessie but at some point along the way we must have handed her over to Pete because here's a photo of them walking to meet us. The finer details of this walk have obviously faded so the photos will have to speak for themselves.

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Portknockie harbour
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Bow Fiddle Rock
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Cullen now visible
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Whale's Mouth
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Zoomed to Cullen
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If the tide had been any higher we wouldn't have managed to get round a rocky bluff without wet feet. There was a rough path higher up which required a down scramble or a slightly awkward move over wet rock lower down, with the water lapping around it. A young bloke had just been over it and kindly waited to make sure the old biddies didn't end up in the sea.

Rocky bluff that could have been a problem at high tide
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Old railway viaduct
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Cullen harbour
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Pete had booked us a table in Cullen but down to eating lunch late (down to having elevenses in Portessie) we weren't hungry at 3.30. So we cancelled the table in Cullen and stopped at Brodie on the way home where I don't remember what the other two had but I had Cullen Skink. And very tasty it was too.
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Re: A gypsy cream, whale's mouth, Cullen skink kind of day

Postby dogplodder » Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:50 pm

To be fair to Buckie and to balance the impression of grey from December 2020 here's a photo taken in April 2019.

Cluny Square, Buckie
IMG_7541.JPG
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Re: A gypsy cream, whale's mouth, Cullen skink kind of day

Postby shredder » Tue Nov 23, 2021 1:06 pm

A bonny bit of coastline that and worth keeping in mind for short winter days. 8)
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Re: A gypsy cream, whale's mouth, Cullen skink kind of day

Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:13 pm

Wonderful coastal scenes, looking beautiful in the low angled winter light. I must get up there sometime!

Tim
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Re: A gypsy cream, whale's mouth, Cullen skink kind of day

Postby dogplodder » Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:46 pm

shredder wrote:A bonny bit of coastline that and worth keeping in mind for short winter days. 8)


It's ideal for winter. :D
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Re: A gypsy cream, whale's mouth, Cullen skink kind of day

Postby dogplodder » Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:48 pm

HalfManHalfTitanium wrote:Wonderful coastal scenes, looking beautiful in the low angled winter light. I must get up there sometime!

Tim


Only problem being the deep shadow we were in from cliffs. :eh:
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