Coastal Walk: Waters of Philorth to St. Combs
Date: Thursday 7th May 2015
Company: Myself and Cuillin
Distance: 13.7km, Ascent: 90m
Time: 3Hrs 5Mins


A last-minute decision to go for a walk today. I didn't want to drive far from home, so a short coastal walk fitted the bill nicely.

I am in the process of walking the full-length of coast from Aberdeen to Inverness and in doing so sticking as close to the shore as possible. As I had not yet walked the section of coast from the Waters of Philorth to St. Combs, I opted to walk this stretch of coast today.

Coastal Walks index

I parked in the Waters of Philorth car park where there is room for numerous cars.

Click here to see a map of the route undertaken

I had hoped to walk along the southern bank of the Water of Philorth, however as per my previous visit, there were cattle in the field. I therefore followed the track along the northern bank of the Water of Philorth with a view to wading through the water near the shore.

Waters of Philorth sign:


Water of Philorth:


Looking along the beach towards Fraserburgh:


On reaching my intended crossing point, I took off my socks and trainers, rolled-up my trousers and waded through. The water only came up to my shins but it was fairly cold. On reaching the other side, I dried myself off with a towel, put back on my socks and trainers and was ready to proceed.

Looking back to where we waded through the Water of Philorth:


We stuck to the shore today as much as possible, walking along short stretches of beach and over countless rocks.

Heading along the shore towards Cairnbulg:


It didn't take long to reach Cairnbulg Boat Haven and Cairnbulg Point.

Cairnbulg Boat Haven:


At Cairnbulg Point, I took several photos of a wreck. The "Sovereign" apparently ran aground here in December 2005. According to the internet, this wreck was used in a poster for The Life of Pi.

Wreck at Cairnbulg Point:


Concrete-covered pipe leading to the sea:


Cuillin:


It was nice to walk through Inverallochy, a place I had not visited previously.

Walking along the shore at Inverallochy:


Looking back to Inverallochy:


As we walked along the edge of the golf course, I stopped to take a photo of a bird. I am fairly sure it is a Skylark, although I am more used to identifying Skylarks when they are fluttering about and singing high in the sky.

Skylark:


Walking the shore from Inverallochy towards St. Combs:


On seeing a group of Cormorants, I tried to get as close as possible.

Cormorants:


Cormorants:


The section of coast leading to St. Combs has a really nice beach. Given the tens of thousands of worm casts, I reckon it is a fairly clean beach. The only other section of coast I have seen with so many worm casts was at Baleshare on North Uist.

Thousands of worm casts on the beach:


We walked along the beach right next to the water's edge. Cuillin enjoyed walking in and out of the water.

Fresh seaweed:


Small haven constructed from WWII concrete blocks:


We eventually reached the point where I started my previous walk from St. Combs to Rattray Head. We continued on a short distance beyond to pick up the start of a track.

Looking along the coast from just beyond St. Combs towards Rattray Head:


During the walk back from St. Combs to Inverallochy, we passed a number of very nice houses. There is no such thing as a poor fisherman!

One of several nice houses:


We rejoined our in-bound route near Cairnbulg Boat Haven.

Cairnbulg Boat Haven with Fraserburgh in distance:


As the tide was coming in, our crossing of the Water of Philorth was now knee-high. I couldn't be bothered taking off my socks and trainers this time, as we were practically back to the car, so I just ploughed through getting soaked in the process .

Crossing the Water of Philorth:


As a fitting end to a nice walk I visited Bicocchi's Ice Cream shop in Fraserburgh. Always worth a visit!