Geo-Trips :: The Coast between Macduff and Gardenstown
Banffshire Coast
A walk from Macduff, Tue, 15 May 2007 by Anne Burgess
This is actually a combination of two trips. First, a boat trip from Macduff to see the seabird nesting cliffs at Troup Head. After returning to Macduff I hitched a lift to Gardenstown and walked back along the edge of the cliffs. This was very much harder going than I expected, but the views were magnificent and I managed to fill in several new squares. Unfortunately I didn't upload them in exactly the order taken, so the continuity is a bit mixed up.
Click the blue circles to see a photograph taken from that spot and read further information about the location. The blue lines indicate the direction of view. There is also a slideshow of this trip. ( )
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Portsoy Old Harbour
The buildings along the harbour front at Portsoy date mainly from the 18th century.
Portsoy Old Harbour
The morning sunshine picks out the detail of the 18th century buildings.
'Puffin' in Macduff Harbour
'Puffin' is a converted fishing boat which does wildlife trips. We went to the... more
Head of Garness
The Head of Garness is the promontory on the left end of this line of cliffs. Top... more
Collie Head
The tip of the headland is in this square. Photographer position checked with GPS.
Troup Head
Each white speck on the cliff face is a nesting Gannet. There were none here... more
Troup Head
More nesting Gannets at Troup Head.
Troup Head
The rock stack at the centre of this view is identified on the 1:25,000 map.
The Coves
Hundreds of Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Razorbills nest on these cliffs, where the... more
Downie Bay
Erosion has carved these cliffs into strange pyramidal shapes.
Cowper's Craig
The rocks on the right are Dalradian psammites, and on the left are Middle Old Red... more
Cowper's Craig
Cliffs east of Downie Bay.
Ravels Den and Downie Bay
The burn looks too short to have eroded such a deep incised valley here. It is... more
St John's Kirk
Approaching the ruined kirk on the footpath from the car park.
Gardenstown
Looking down from beside St John's Kirk, the division of the village into two... more
St John's Kirkyard
The kirk cannot have been all that convenient for the members of the congregation.... more
St John's Kirkyard
This was the parish kirk of the parish of Gamrie, and the gravestones recall many... more
St John's Kirk
An inscription on the west gable of the roofless kirk says that it was built in... more
Gamrie Bay
The full extent of the bay, from above St John's Kirk. Gardenstown is right of... more
Gardenstown and St John's Kirk
This shows where the kirk is in relation to the village of Gardenstown. The kirk... more
Moar Head
There is a very faint footpath to the top, but it frequently loses itself in... more
More Head
The top of More Head is mostly overgrown with whins (gorse). This view is looking... more
More Head
There's not much dry land in this square, and most of it is pretty inaccessible,... more
More Head
This is definitely a place for the sure-footed only. It is 150 metres straight... more
More Head
The whins and scrub at the north edge of the square give way to arable land, which... more
Whins and Rushes
The scrubland extends is 130 metres into the north edge of this square. This was... more
More Head
This is more representative of the square than the whins and scrub in the earlier... more
More Head
Looking to sea from above Snow Craig. Is that the curvature of the Earth on the... more
Cliffs at Whitehill
A long unbroken cliff with few opportunities to climb down to the shore, though... more
Whitehill
Though the fields further inland have been ploughed and sown, this area has been... more
Whitehill
Apart from the cliff edge, the land in this square is arable. The farm on the... more
Shore at Whitehill
Looking down to the shore from the clifftop near Whitehill.
Silverford
This is a curious piece of topography. The photographer location is on the very... more
Whitehill
Pasture and arable fields. The white gable end is the house at Westerton of... more
Hole of Whitecraig
The name is given to a section of the shoreline here. Looking towards Snow Craig.
Whitehill and Greenskares
Looking across the glacial meltwater channel, where the bare ground reveals the... more
Silverford
Pasture land on the clifftop at Silverford. The glacial meltwater channel and the... more
Meran Licks
I don't know the reason for the curious name given to this stretch of foreshore.... more
Meran Licks
Meran Licks is actually on the shore below the cliff here. The faint footpath... more
Meran Licks
From the cliff here, looking towards Snow Craig, there is just a glimpse of Meran... more
Silverford
Pasture land viewed from the cliff edge. The farms at centre and right are at... more
Meran Licks
This seems to be the best viewpoint for Meran Licks, which is the stretch of shore... more
Meran Licks
The name refers to the nearer rocks on the foreshore. In the distance is Stocked Head.
Meran Licks
The shingle beach below is the eastern end of the Scurrs of Greenside, and Meran... more
Easter Silverford
This flock of sheep watched suspiciously as I passed along the clifftop. The... more
Burn of Melrose
The burn flows down the gully in the centre of this view. The whins mark the edge... more
Stocked Head
The headland is one of the places where there is reasonably easy access to the shore.
Melrose
Mixed arable and pasture land around Melrose. This is the one in the parish of... more
Easter Silverford
The field in foreground is planted with a cereal crop. Easter Silverford, the... more
Scurrs of Greenside
This name refers to the beach at the foot of the cliffs here. The bay extends to... more
Green Side
The zigzag is the remains of the road leading down to the shore on the east side... more
Law of Melrose
The stones seem to have been placed recently on top of the ancient cairn, which is... more
Law of Melrose
Looking east from the summit of the cairn, which stands on the summit of Law Hill.
Law of Melrose
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland... more
Scurrs of Greenside
Closer examination of the ridges of rock on the foreshore here would reveal the... more
Scurrs of Greenside
On the rocks here there still lie the remains of a Belgian trawler which was... more
View from Stocked Head
Looking east along the cliffs from Stocked Head towards More Head and, in the far... more
Stocked Head
The foreground rocks are the eastern part of Stocked Head, and the nearer part of... more
Green Side
The old road to the shore can be seen here, zigzagging down the grassy slope.
Head of Garness
Looking against the light from near Stocked Head.
Headlands
From left to right, the named headlands in this view are Troup Head, More Head and... more
Head of Garness
There is a ruined fishing station on the headland.
Head of Garness
There is a large cave here on the west side of the headland.
Mains of Melrose
A large field on the cliff top sown with a cereal crop.
Mains of Melrose
The chimneys of Mains of Melrose are just glimpsed beyond a large field of cereals.
Top Castle
This is the name given to the prominent rock in the centre of this view. Head of... more
Burn of Melrose
As it emerges from its gorge and reaches the shore, the burn broadens out to form... more
Old Haven
Without shelter from the north-east, and with a rocky foreshore, this doesn't seem... more
Old Haven
The rocks here are Dalradian psammites which have been folded until the strata are... more
Headlands
Headlands in a series stretching east to Troup Head in the distance.
Cliffs at Cornhill
Looking inland towards the cultivated land.
The Ship
A sharp-pointed rock stack, albeit not cut off from the shore. The vertical strata... more
Cornhill Farm
The farm buildings viewed across the fields from the top of the cliff.
Royal Tarlair Golf Club
A luxuriant patch of Red Campion (Silene dioica) just off the fairway. On the... more
Tarlair
The rugged coastline north of the golf course.
Tarlair Swimming Pool
The pavilion, reflected in the water of the shallow pool, has been listed as a... more
Tarlair Swimming Pool
The water in the shallow pool would presumably have reached the lowest of these... more
Tarlair Swimming Pool
From the steps near the entrance, looking over the shallow pool to the deeper pool... more
All images © Anne Burgess and available under a Creative Commons licence .