Walk: Whale of a time at Bow Fiddle Rock

📌 Portknockie, Moray
★★★★

Bow Fiddle Rock is one of the most spectacular landforms on the magnificent Moray coastline. The huge stack is connected to another by a sloping rock arch, with the resulting sculpture variously described as a sinking ship, bow and fiddle or a whale’s tail. If the latter, then the other end of the mammal is at the Whale’s Mouth: an aptly-named, gaping hole of a cave / arch just to the south. This coastal walk visits both with an inland railway line creating a brilliant circular walk. Starting in smaller Portknockie enables a mid-trip visit to The Ice Cream Shop in Cullen on a warm day, or a bowl of Cullen Skink on a cold one. Don’t forget to visit the picturesque harbours in both villages.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish on Bridge Street, Portknockie village centre. Alternative start midway along the route in Cullen

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NJ 490684

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.702542,-2.857575

🚌 Bus to Portknockie (or to Cullen at a different point on the route)

🚗 Street parking

📝 Key info

▶ 8 km / 5 mi | ▲ 110 m | ⌛ 2.5 hr

Features: 🏠 Portknockie ★★; 🏠 Cullen ★★★; Cullen Bay ★★★; 🌊 Whale’s Mouth arch; 🌊 Bow Fiddle Rock; 📷 Castle Hill (Cullen) ★★

⬤ Moderate | Surfaced railway bed for outward leg with path detour to Castle Hill; sandy beach then clear coastal path with some ascent / descent for return.

➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start & Portknockie – old railway line – Cullen viaduct – short detour to Castle Hill – Cullen Square – Cullen harbour – Cullen Bay – Whale’s Mouth arch – Bow Fiddle Rock – Portknockie harbour – start

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Shags, seagulls, stonechats. Sheep near Castle Hill.

Weather: Often sunny with some cloudy periods, 15°C with moderate winds. This area has a benign microclimate, often making it a good area to escape heavy rain elsewhere in Scotland when the wind direction is from the southwest.

September 2021