Crovie – A Village on a Ledge and Lunch in Gardenstown
A few hours.
The route
Crovie is a single row of cottages on a ledge between the cliffs of Gamrie Bay and the sea, so narrow that no car can drive along it.
Look down on the whole village from the clifftop, walk the path along its front, then drive on to Gardenstown for lunch at a small family café and a wander down to its harbour.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Ring Bumble and Brae on 07369 209737 to reserve a table for about noon.
The day
Crovie
A morning on Gamrie Bay: the view down onto Crovie from the clifftop, a walk along its front under the cliff, then soup and home baking in Gardenstown across the bay and a look round its harbour.
About three hoursAbout 1 mile on foot
Crovie
An attraction
Crovie is one row of cottages on a ledge at the foot of the cliffs on the east side of Gamrie Bay, with only a footpath along the front, so no car can go through it. The viewpoint car park on the clifftop looks down on the whole row; the small car park above the last hairpin is the better one for the walk, with steps and a path down to the front. Families cleared from farms inland settled here in the late 1700s and took to the sea, and by 1900 some fifty boats fished from Crovie. Most of the cottages stand gable end to the sea, and one carries the name Peter Johnstone and the year 1789 cut into its stone. The great storm of 31 January 1953 washed away the path, stretches of the sea wall and several houses, the fishing ended, and many families moved round the bay to Gardenstown. Most of the cottages are holiday homes now, so keep to the path along the front and keep dogs on a lead. In a northerly gale the sea comes over the front: watch it from the viewpoint instead.
5 min by car
Bumble and Brae
Lunch
It's 5 minutes' drive to Gardenstown and Bumble and Brae on New Ground, near the top of the village. The soup of the day comes with bread and butter or oatcakes, there are freshly baked sausage rolls, pies and quiches, and a scone with jam and cream or a pastry goes with the coffee after. Takeaway is available too, if you'd rather eat down by the harbour. It opens Thursday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, so ring 07369 209737 first if you plan a Wednesday. Park with care on the street nearby, leaving room on the narrow road.
5 min on foot
Gardenstown
An attraction
Leave the car by the café: the harbour is about 5 minutes' walk down the hill. Gardenstown, first called Gamrie, was founded in 1720 by Alexander Garden as a fishing village, and its houses climb the steep side of the bay in rows, one above the other. The oldest cottages are down by the sea, and at the west end Seatown runs along the shore; walk it. From the harbour you look across the water to Crovie's row under its cliff, and on the hillside to the west stands the ruin of St John's Church, built in 1513. The way back up to the car is short and steep.
If it rains
Crovie's front and Gardenstown's harbour are outside, beside the sea. On a wet day, see Crovie from the viewpoint car park and take a longer lunch indoors at Bumble and Brae.
Make it a weekend
More days out in Aberdeenshire.
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