Bow Fiddle Rock.

Start. Cullen Bay Hotel.

Route. Cullen Bay Hotel - Railway Path - Portknockie - Admiralty Street - Bow Fiddle Rock - Whale's Mouth - Jenny's Well - Cullen Sands - A98 - Cullen Bay Hotel.

Notes. We’ve been here before, more than once, but who can visit Cullen without visiting Bow Fiddle Rock, one of the most photographed landmarks on the Moray coast. So for little effort you get stunning cliff top views, a sandy beach, Bow Fiddle Rock, the Whales Mouth and Three Kings, plus a stretch of old railway line leading to the quiet fishing village of Portknockie.

Unlike our other walks to Bow Fiddle Rock we avoided Cullen, not because we don’t like the place it’s lovely but we happened to be staying at the Cullen Bay Hotel, halfway between Portknockie and Cullen, passed by the main road and the old railway which is now an excellent footpath.

So this walk starts at the Cullen Bay Hotel, we crossed the road then stepped onto the gravel surface of the railway path, up hill we wandered. The shadows were long, the sun low in the sky, it would be dark soon but we felt sure we had time to explore. The path guided us through stolen views over Cullen Bay depositing us on the road into Portknockie, Admiralty Street guided us to a small scattering of garages and industrial units, the road into the site terminated at a sign for Bow Fiddle Rock.

A green trod ushered us over cliff tops through stunning rock architecture, caves and blow holes and of course Bow Fiddle Rock, we descended to the small beach facing the rock. The rock evokes a sense of wonder with it’s steep folded sides and rock arch resembling a fiddle bow, what I noticed on this visit was the distinct lack of sea birds. I believe the gull population along the Moray coast has been decimated by bird flu, this has been evident by the amount of carcases and feathers covering the beaches and filling rock pool and inlets, it’s sad, the rock was eerily quiet.

When the sun started dipping under the horizon we opted to move, back onto the cliffs before descending passed another feature christened Whales Mouth, we visited Jenny’s Well a sacred spring, scrambled over Toshie’s Long Craigs to access Cullen Sands. With the light fading we wandered across the sands passed three fangs of rock known as the Three Kings, we ascended a set of steps accessing the club house of the Cullen Golf Club, then followed the access road under the arches of an impressive viaduct to reach the main road a couple of hundred yards from the Cullen Bay Hotel.

view route map.

home.

Long shadows and stunning views across Cullen Bay.

High above Cullen Golf Course, a railway path under foot enjoying evening views to Cullen and Seatown.

Strolling down Admiralty Street, Portknockie eager to reach Bow Fiddle Rock.

Painted by gull droppings, affectionately known by locals as "Bird Sh_t Rock".

What we came to see, one of the finest natural rock formations in Scotland.

Formed by a combination of tectonic plate movement forcing the rock up at an angle and erosion washing the soft sediments out.

Standing in admiration, just us and the sound of wavelets kissing the shingle beach.

Golden light over the Black Isle.

Dark in fading light Logie Head across Cullen Bay.

A rich golden hue over Portknockie.

Over The Widdles and Toshie's Long Craigs, Cullen Sands, the white building above the beach was our starting point, the Cullen Bay Hotel.

The Whale's Mouth, formed the same way as Bow Fiddle Rock.

Jenny's Well, sacred spring with healing powers, who knows.

Enjoying a stunning evening stroll across Cullen Sand looking back to Toshie's Long Craigs.

Two of the Three Kings, the other's behind me.

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