Crawton – a Waterfall into the Sea and the Fowlsheugh Cliffs
A few hours.
The route
South of Stonehaven, a little burn, or stream, runs across the fields at Crawton and pours straight over the cliff into the sea, one of the loveliest sights on this coast.
From the waterfall a grassy path follows the clifftops into the RSPB's Fowlsheugh reserve, with the North Sea booming below, before lunch by the harbour in Stonehaven. Dogs are welcome too.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Crawton
A morning on the coast south of Aberdeen: a waterfall tumbling into the sea, a clifftop path to a lookout over the seabird ledges, then a warm lunch looking over the boats in Stonehaven.
About three hoursAbout 2.5 miles on foot
Crawton Waterfall
An attraction
Crawton is off the A92 coast road south of Stonehaven, down a narrow road through the fields to the clifftop. The road ends at a small car park with room for only 12 cars, so come early, and never park on the verges, which block the way for the people who live here. A short walk from the car brings you to the edge, where the Crawton Burn runs out of land and drops in a white ribbon straight into the sea. Beside it are the grassy ruins of Crawton, a fishing village whose people had all gone by the 1920s. From here the RSPB's Fowlsheugh trail heads north along the clifftop for about a mile, the reserve says, to a small shelter looking over the seabird ledges. From May to early August the cliffs are crowded with guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and a few puffins. The rest of the year it's a wild, breezy walk above a restless sea, with grey seals and dolphins sometimes in the water below. The path is unsurfaced and uneven, with two flights of steps at the start and a narrow gate, so it's no good for a pushchair or a wheelchair. Dogs are welcome on a lead all the way. The cliff edge is unfenced and the drop is sheer, so keep to the path and hold small hands, and turn back in strong wind or rain. There are no toilets: the nearest are in Stonehaven. Walk back the same way to the car.
10 min by car
Stonehaven
An attraction
Stonehaven is 10 minutes' drive north, with a public car park at the harbour. Take a wander along the harbour front at Shorehead, past the fishing boats and the old Tolbooth on the Old Pier, with public toilets beside the pier.
The Ship Inn
Lunch
Lunch is at the Ship Inn on Shorehead, along the harbour front: an inn on the harbour since 1771. Its lounge bar serves bar meals every day, with a fire on cold days and a terrace by the water on warm ones, and dogs are welcome with well-behaved owners. Last food orders are at 8.30pm. The restaurant next door does fish and chips and a Cullen skink, the smoked haddock soup of the north-east, that the inn recommends. If it's full, the Marine Hotel is the other pub on the harbour.
If it rains
The clifftop is no place in heavy rain or a strong wind: leave the waterfall and the path for a calmer day, and go straight on to Stonehaven for a long lunch by the fire at the Ship Inn.
