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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
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
House on the edge
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
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
Is gorse blooming in December a sign of global warming?
The clifftop path at the edge of the golf course gave good views of the rocky coastline.
Sandy bay
Sandy bay from other side
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
West from Findochty
A ship called Dignity
Findochty harbour
A tribute to the fishing community
Rock stacks
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.
Portknockie harbour
Bow Fiddle Rock
Cullen now visible
Whale's Mouth
Zoomed to Cullen
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
Old railway viaduct
Cullen harbour
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.