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Small boats in Rosehearty harbour at low water, the breakwater behind.
Aberdeenshire

Rosehearty Harbour

One of the oldest seaports in Scotland, now a quiet harbour of small boats and rocky shore.

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Welcome

Rosehearty is one of the oldest seaports in Scotland, said to have been founded by a party of Danes shipwrecked on this coast in the early fourteenth century.

In the 1630s the laird of Pitsligo built it up as a commercial fishery, and at its height the fishing here supported some six hundred people.

The boom has long passed, and today it is a quiet harbour: a single basin, 120 metres of quay inside and a long outer breakwater that takes the brunt of the weather from the north-east. Around twenty small boats use it, most of them fished part time.

It is a lovely place to start a walk. There is rocky shore and sandy beach on either side, rock pools at low tide, and the ruins of Pitsligo Castle a few hundred yards inland. The Masons Arms stands at the edge of the village for something afterwards, and Pennan and Fraserburgh are both a short drive along the coast.

Close byPitsligo CastleThe ruined castle of the Jacobite lords of Pitsligo, a short walk up from Rosehearty harbour.2 min by roadSee itThe ruined walls of Pitsligo Castle standing over a green lawn.
Before you go

A small harbour open to walk round at any time, with rocky shore and beaches either side.

Where
Rosehearty.
Where it is

Rosehearty.

Close byAround Rosehearty.
  1. The orange lifeboat moored in Sandhaven harbour below the village.Sandhaven Meal MillAn early nineteenth-century meal mill on the Buchan coast with every piece of its machinery intact.2 miles 4 min by road
  2. Afternoon tea on a lace cloth in the Nooks & Crannies courtyard.Nooks & Crannies4 miles 8 min by road
  3. The Wine Tower on its rock above the sea at Kinnaird Head.Kinnaird Head Castle and The Wine Tower5 miles 9 min by road
  4. Stone tower on a rocky headland, seen beyond rooftop chimneysMuseum of Scottish Lighthouses5 miles 9 min by road
  5. Dark rocks and reef along the shore at Aberdour Beach, the sea beyond.New Aberdour BeachA beach below the cliffs down a winding lane, with sea caves, an arch and St Drostan's Well.6 miles 11 min by road
Directions
The ruined walls of Pitsligo Castle standing over a green lawn.AttractionsPitsligo Castle0.6 miles
The Water of Philorth winding through dunes and salt marsh to the sea.WalksWaters of Philorth7.0 miles
Boat named Pennan rests on the shore beside whitewashed cottagesAttractionsPennan8.3 miles
Woman standing beside the Coastal Cuppie kiosk with its chalkboard menuCafeCoastal Cuppie8.5 miles
The whitewashed row of Pennan below the cliffs, the red phone box by the inn.RestaurantsThe Pennan Inn8.5 miles
A road running between green fields beside the golf course at Inverallochy.WalksInverallochy and Whitelinks Bay9.2 miles
Narrow rocky gorge with moss-covered floor cutting through grassy hillsideAttractionsHell’s Lum near Cullykhan Bay9.3 miles
Grassy headlands enclose a small sandy beach with gentle wavesAttractionsCullykhan Bay9.3 miles
Gannets nesting on a steep coastal cliff face above the seaAttractionsTroup Head11 miles
The Daily for 17 October, from Scotland with love. A wide waterfall churns over rock ledges, autumn trees lining the gorge.

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