New Slains Castle – A Clifftop Ruin Above Cruden Bay
About 1.6 miles on foot.
New Slains Castle is a great roofless shell of pink stone on the cliffs beside Cruden Bay, and Aberdeenshire Council says it was likely an inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.
A short path leads to it from the village, first through a strip of woodland beside a burn, or stream, and then out onto the open clifftop. It's 2.6 km there and back.
- Time
- About an hour and a quarter: 2.6 km there and back, with time at the castle.
- The path
- A woodland path with a small bridge, then a clifftop path. The ground inside the ruin is uneven, with rubble underfoot.
- Where to start
- The council's Main Street car park in Cruden Bay: 31 spaces, free, with a voluntary charge by RingGo or PayByPhone.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, but not in a strong wind. The coast path north of the castle has a closed section at the Bullers of Buchan.
- Dogs
- On a lead at the castle: the cliff edge has no fence.
- Children
- The castle's seaward side is an unfenced cliff edge: hold children's hands and keep them off the walls.
- Before you set out
- The castle stands on an unfenced cliff edge and nobody looks after it. The council has closed a section of the coast path at the Bullers of Buchan, north of the castle.
The walk
Park in the council's Main Street car park in Cruden Bay, which is free, with a voluntary charge you can pay by RingGo or PayByPhone. The council's Route 1 starts on Main Street, passes the church and the car park, and takes a path into the trees. It crosses a small bridge over the burn and comes out on the clifftop at the castle. The council measures the walk at 2.6 km, and by the map that is the distance there and back. The castle dates from the 16th century, the council says.
What's left is a maze of tall walls, round towers and empty windows, open to the sky and to anyone who walks up. Nobody looks after it. There are no barriers, no staff and no signs to say where it's safe. The seaward walls stand right on the edge of the cliff, with a long drop to the rocks, and the ground inside is uneven and strewn with rubble. So hold children's hands, keep a dog on a lead, and stay well back from the edge and off the walls.
Leave it for another day in a strong wind. North of the castle the coast path carries on to the Bullers of Buchan. The council has closed a section of it there after storm damage to a footbridge, so turn back at the castle and return the way you came.
If it rains
The wood gives a little cover but the clifftop and the ruin give none, and wet grass near an unfenced edge is no place to be. In heavy rain or a gale, leave it for another day.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Where to eat
Harbour Dunes Café, a café in Port Erroll, Cruden Bay.
The Kilmarnock Arms, inn and bar in Cruden Bay.
For further reading, before you go.