📌 Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire
★★★★
The Buchan coast alternates between long, sandy beaches and dramatic cliff sections. The stretch to the north of Cruden Bay is in the latter category, with a succession of spectacular rock stacks and jagged headlands. One highlight is Slains Castle, a ruin which may have inspired the Dracula novel; another is Dunbuy, an austere rock stack with an unlikely arch right through its middle and hundreds of seabirds. The three superb miles of coast path culminate in the Bullers of Buchan: an enormous collapsed sea cave now featuring a majestic arch leading out to sea.
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start on Bridge Street (A975), Cruden Bay village centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NK 090363
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.417242,-1.850929
🏁 Finish on the A975 at Bullers of Buchan turnoff, 2 mi northeast of Cruden Bay
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NK 107380
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.432852,-1.824029
🚌 Bus to Cruden Bay (walk start), & from Bullers of Buchan (walk finish)
🚗 Car park / street parking (walk start / finish) – with bus connection to other end of route (generally hourly, less frequent on Sundays – check times in advance)
📝 Key info
▶ 5 km / 3 mi | ▲ 70 m | ⌛ 1.5-2 hr | ⚠️ Linear route
Features: 🏠 Cruden Bay ★★★ & village sights; 🏰 Slains Castle ★★★; 🌊 Dunbuy stack; 🌊 Bullers of Buchan ★★★★
⬤ Moderate | Grassy paths mostly along clifftops. Occasionally muddy, particularly near start.
Download file for GPS➡️ Northbound linear walk: start & Cruden Bay – Slains Castle – Dunbuy – Bullers of Buchan – finish
📝 Key info
Wildlife: Eider ducks & other seabirds.
Weather: Breezy but sunny with cloudless skies.
March 2012
