The Bullers of Buchan

When summer is a distant memory, it's nice to look back at one of the places I love to visit when the weather is a wee bit warmer. The Bullers of Buchan is a hidden gem on Scotland's east coast about 27 miles north of Aberdeen. The name refers to both the tiny former fishing village and the "Pot", a collapsed sea cave just a few hundred yards from the houses.

If you are driving here from south of Aberdeen, bypass the city by taking the Aberdeen Western Periphery Route just north of Stonehaven and this should make getting here (and everywhere north of Aberdeen really) a lot less painful than driving through the city. Arriving at our destination we find a substantial car park and from there it is a short walk into the village where there are two footpaths. The first, keeping to the left, will take you north. The path to the right heads south.

So. What does the Bullers of Buchan have to offer and why should you make the effort to go? Well they say a picture is worth a thousand words:

The Bow of Pitwarlachie, south of the village

The views are pretty stunning and as it's a lesser known area (at the moment) you won't encounter quite the same number of tourists and day-trippers. Now you won't have the place to yourself but it's unlikely to be as busy as some of the better known spots where it can be a challenge to even find a parking space. A couple of things you should know: firstly, there are no tourist facilities here. No cafe's, no hotels and no public toilets. That said, Peterhead is only 9 miles north and Cruden Bay is roughly 3 miles to the south and both towns provide those facilities. Secondly, the footpaths are rough and unkempt in places and often go very close to the cliff edge with no fence so please be very careful and if you must take a dog, for heaven's sake keep it on a lead.

As well as the geography and spectacular rock formations, Bullers of Buchan is home to a good number of breeding seabirds including Kittiwakes, Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins so for those with an interest (as I am) this is a place where you can easily spend a day exploring with binoculars and a nice long lens. The breeding season is late April to late July. The rest of the year these hardy little birds are way out at sea and the cliffs will be empty except for the odd Herring Gull.

The paths I discussed above extend quite some distance both north and south but my explorations, so far, have been restricted to the area around the village. Should you desire, however, there are much longer walks to be had. A good map will show the full extent of these coastal paths but briefly, the paths extend to Boddam (5 miles to the north) and to Cruden Bay (nearly 3 miles to the south).

On the northern path the first feature you will come to is the Pot, the nearly circular collapsed sea cave which is nearly certain to induce basophobia as you stare down into the hole. Continuing on a little way you will come to North Haven, a bay with a small boulder beach possessing a very nice prospect out onto some sea-stacks. There is a rough, steep path down to the bay and is a nice (if slightly uncomfortable) place to sit and enjoy a sandwich.

North Haven and the 'Temptin' seastack.

Back up the hill on the main path we continued north for another half-mile or so until we reached an old granite quarry near Whiteshin before re-tracing our steps back to the village and making our way onto the south path. We went as far as 'The Step of Arthur Fowlie' and here we got our first good sighting of Puffins in the sea below us and flying up to the cliffs nearby where there were numerous burrows.

Puffins

There is a nice grassy slope here where you can sit (assuming it's not been raining) and we happily spent several hours here with the place pretty much to ourselves on a July afternoon just watching the Puffins come and go a few yards away. We certainly didn't exert ourselves that day and that's what's wonderful about this particular place - it's the perfect spot to unwind, watch the seabirds and soak in the views in relative peace and just a short walk from the car park. Sometimes that's all you want on a hot summers day.

Dirty Birds

Doubtless, some other day we will take the longer hike's on the path's both north and south and explore further but just as it stands this place is logged as one of my favourite day-trips on Scotland's east coast.

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