Cullen to Portknockie – Along the Shore to the Bow Fiddle Rock
About 3.7 miles on foot.
There's a lovely stretch of coast between Cullen and Portknockie, and the best way to see it is on foot.
The walk leaves Cullen's harbour, crosses the long beach below the railway viaducts and climbs to the clifftop for the Bow Fiddle Rock, the great sea arch off Portknockie. It's about 3 km each way, and lunch is waiting in Cullen when you get back.
- Time
- About two and a half hours: around 3 km (1.9 miles) each way along the beach and the clifftop, with time at the rock.
- The path
- Sand, a stepped path up to the clifftop and open cliff edges. The old railway path out of Portknockie is level and surfaced.
- Where to start
- Cullen harbour, in the Seatown. Free.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, on a day without a gale. Check the tide for Cullen's beach. From November to January set off by noon. The Rockpool is shut on Mondays.
- Dogs
- On a lead along the clifftop.
- Children
- Fine for children who walk well. Keep them close along the clifftop, where the edges are open.
- Toilets
- Public toilets at Cullen harbour and in Portknockie.
- Before you set out
- At high tide the way along Cullen's beach is cut off, and the way along the foreshore above it is not signed: check the tide times. The clifftop is open to the wind.
The walk
Park at Cullen harbour, down in the Seatown, where the parking is free and there are public toilets close by. The harbour was built between 1817 and 1819 to a design by Thomas Telford, and the Seatown's painted cottages crowd in behind it. Walkhighlands gives the coast walk between Cullen and Portknockie as 3 km, so it's about 6 km there and back. Two and a half hours covers it, with time at the rock. Cullen's beach comes first, a long curve of sand with rock stacks standing on it and the golf links behind.
Look back and you'll see the railway viaducts of 1886 striding over the rooftops. The line was carried through the town on arches because the Countess of Seafield wouldn't let it cross the grounds of Cullen House. At low tide the way is along the sand. At high tide it's cut off, and you have to pick a way along the foreshore above, which isn't signed, so check the tide times before you set out. Beyond the bay a stepped path climbs to the clifftop and on to Portknockie, where the Bow Fiddle Rock stands just offshore.
It's a leaning arch of pale quartzite, more than 650 million years old, and a railed viewpoint looks straight at it. The cliff edges along the top are open, so keep children close and dogs on a lead, and save it for another day in a gale. Portknockie has public toilets too. For anyone who can't manage the steps, the old railway line out of Portknockie is now a level, surfaced path. From November to January, set off by noon.
If it rains
The beach and the clifftop are open to everything the firth sends in. In steady rain or a high wind, walk as far as the end of the sands and back, and keep the cliffs for a better day.
Afterwards
About 8 min on foot
Rockpool Café
Lunch
Back in Cullen, the Rockpool is on the Square in the upper town, a short walk up from the harbour. Cullen gave its name to Cullen skink, the soup of smoked haddock, and the Rockpool is known for its own. There are lunches, coffee and cakes as well. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, and shut on Mondays. It's small and popular, so ring 01542 841397 to book a table. Families and dogs are welcome. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Ring 01542 841397 to book a table: it is small and popular.
Where to eat
Rockpool Café, a restaurant in Cullen.
For further reading, before you go.