Photos of the cliff top walk

Yesterday, Wednesday 19th June, I decided to walk the cliffs again. I’ve not felt well enough to do this for a while but since retirement; I’ve been getting out and walking, gradually building up the distance until yesterday, when I felt confident to tackle the 5 mile walk along the cliff tops from my home town to the tiny village 5 miles away. It was the hottest day of the year, I had my bottle of water, a packet of peanuts, a small bar of dark chocolate and of course my camera. I even stood the cold water on top of the chocolate to prevent melting. 

The only provision I forgot was sun block, but that wasn’t such a disaster, partly due to the years I spent on the south coast I’m blessed with skin that tends to tan not burn. 

I learnt I need proper walking shoes, my casual shoes that I’ve always said are comfy enough to wear any where, turned out to be totally inadequate for a five mile cliff top walk.
Another reason I’ve not done this in a while is because; over the last couple of years there have been a few landslides where great sections of rock face fell into the sea and some of the pathways collapsed leaving the path closed to the public.

( this is a section of the old path that fell into the sea) 
I’m not sure I will be doing it again either, there is a section of path that is far to close to the edge for me to feel safe. I don’t ever remember feeling afraid up there before, the cliff top path has always been one of my most favourite places in the whole world.  

I’m not sure if the path really is closer to the edge and narrower than it used to be, or if it’s me being less confident than I was. I’m all too aware these days I could easily fall or stumble and I can’t sit on the ground and get up again with out a lot of difficulty (and total loss of dignity). I’m not 100% sure, but I really do think that could be my last time walking the whole 5 miles.

 I feel quite sad about that, it’s taken me a couple of years to get round to doing it again only to find that maybe I should find somewhere else to walk in future. But weather or not I do the whole walk again, the first part is quite safe and I’m sure I’ll go there again.
I took loads and loads of photos, and I’m very disappointed in most of them. I’m not sure why but many of the photos are out of focus and not very good at all. The sun was bright, I couldn’t see properly at times and the LCD screen was more like a mirror than a viewing screen. But some turned out ok.

The views are just the best. It was so hot the sea was that pure deep blue that’s you see on the very best days of summer and the sky was almost the same colour just a shade lighter with the occasional white fluffy cloud. 

I wish there was a way to share just how beautiful it all was because those cliffs, at their best as they were yesterday, are unbeatable for breathtaking scenery and awe inspiring beauty.
How different it was this morning. It was still very warm, but every thing was misty and overcast, the colours were muted and pastel and that has altogether another kind of beauty.

Looking out to sea with the camera.

Probably of no interest to any one else but….. this is why I love my new camera with its 30x optical zoom

And to think they were no more than dots on the horizon. 

Walking the cliffs part 3.

Walking the cliffs part 3.

So this is what I walked so far to see?

( below, Maiden Castle, an ancient promontory fort, as seen from the footpath) 

( above, the furthest, shallowest end of the Fort)

When I woke up that morning, when I looked out of the window and saw what a beautiful day it was, maybe even the best day of the whole year, I knew this is where I wanted to be. I’ve walked past this distinctive landmark many times before and studied it from the cliff top path, but on this day, I wanted to stand on top of it. I’ve climbed it a couple of times before, every time I do it the task is more difficult than it was before. I get older and stiffer and the land becomes more and more overgrown, and on each occasion I stand on the top, look over the landscape and think to myself, savour this, remember this, because this could be the last time. And this time it was extremely difficult. At times I didn’t think I was going to make it.
( the steepest track down into the ditch, very overgrown)

‘It’, is an ancient promontory fort situated on a small outcrop of land laying 100 foot above the sea. On the seaward side the cliffs drop sharply into the sea where clusters of smaller jagged rocks protrude above the waves. On the landward side the remains of the rampart, or vallum and the fosse (bank and ditch) are clearly visible. 

 (the tiny track at the bottom of the ditch to the back of the fort)

The other side of the ditch the earth bank remains of the little fort rise up about twenty feet out of the ditch. There were two clearly defined tracks down the vallum into the fosse at the bottom, one was relatively short but very steep and one was relatively long but more shallow and descended at an angle cutting across the vallum. There were other less well defined tracks but those two were the most established.

 ( climbing up the track to the top of the Fort)

The first time I climbed this little fort a few years ago I took the steep track down, but even then I found it difficult to descent so quickly at such a steep incline on a narrow track that was wet and slippery. Since then I have always taken the other track. 

 ( almost at the top)

It’s difficult to assess the depth of this ditch because it’s difficult to see all of it at once, but I think it’s at least twenty foot and some descriptions of the fort say its 30 foot. On this particular day I looked for the tracks, the first one would have been the steep one, the more shallow track was another 30 foot along the path. It looked undisturbed since the last time I was there. The bank was completely overgrown with long grass, nettles and brambles. I found the steep track, it was very overgrown but at least I could see it. I considered going down that way but pretty soon realised I wouldn’t make it and it looked a long way to end up sliding and falling. I walked along the path looking for the other track but when I did eventually find it, it was completely overgrown with nettles. Fortunately, I had taken my walking stick with me. 

 ( at the top of the widest part, looking back to the narrow end)

I edged down the track beating the nettles out of the way as I went. It was wet and boggy underfoot and most of the time I couldn’t see the ground beneath the undergrowth. With every step I had no idea how far my foot would sink into the vegetation before I felt firm land beneath it. It took forever to edge down that ditch, and I must admit there were times when little nagging doubts began to creep in, I remember thinking, what if I can’t get out?? 

 ( flat land in front of the Fort, and three sisters rock formation)

Bashing those nettles out of the way was a horrible job and I ended up with lots of nettle rash. Once at the bottom I had to edge along the bottom of ditch back toward the direction I had come. I was heading for the tiny track that led to the back of the fort. I know from previous occasions the side of this little fort that faces the path is much too steep to climb, the only way up is to walk around the back and climb up that way. I also knew that I needed to walk along the side of the ditch for as far as I could because once I started to cross the bottom of the ditch my feet would sink into a boggy mess. The bottom of the ditch remains marshy all year and my feet sink to ankle level. I walked as far as I could before crossing to the other side of the ditch and then headed for the little track that disappeared around the back of the fort. Once at the back, and out of sight of the path, the fort rises on the landward side and beneath the fort, an area of flat land stretches out toward the cliff edge and the sea. 
 

 ( flat land beneath the fort on seaward side)

I have never walked across this little piece of land. I’m not sure where the land ends and the cliffs begin and, being directly behind the fort, it’s completely blocked from view of the path. At the back of the fort there are two choices, the first track up to the top is so steep it’s almost vertical, but walk further along the base of the fort and the incline is easier. I took the second track, the shallow one. But even here the track was overgrown with long grass, I climbed up on all fours using the long grass to hang on to and pull myself up with. The track leads to the top of the narrowest end of the fort. The earth mound that is all that’s left of the fort is long and narrow at one end but widens along the ridge toward the other end. The top is barley two foot wide at the narrow end but widens to about six foot at the other end, and it was all vey overgrown.  I walked along the ridge of the fort toward the widest point, smashing the undergrowth out of the way as I went. And once I was there, I just stood and admired the view. One of the reasons I love being there is because it makes me feel as if I am standing on top of the world. 

Standing on top of the fort and looking left you get a spectacular view of a rock formation knows as the three sisters which jut out from a disused fishing cove called Carlingheugh Bay. 

 
In front of you the sea stretches out toward the horizon, 

 ( looking right)
 
looking right you get a perfect view of another tiny sheltered sandy bay, and looking behind, inland, you see miles and miles of farmland.

 ( farmland seen from the top of the fort)

This, to me, is the perfect spot. I didn’t stay long this time, the ground on top of the fort was too overgrown to sit down, I would have liked to sit and admire the view but instead I just stood for 15 minutes or so, standing on top of the world.  Negotiating my way back was just as difficult, when I reached the safety of the footpath I had to take my shoes off and tip the water out, they smelt like a putrid bog which wasn’t pleasant. The whole thing was exhausting, but well worth the effort. On the way back I saw some people fishing out on the rocks, a perfect end to a perfect day.

Walking the cliffs, part 2.

So……….picking up where I left off yesterday. Once past the little wooden fence and the rather scary bit where you see the path collapsed into the sea, you round the corner and Dickmont den comes into view. 

This is a deep inlet in the cliff with a small island at the entrance. This was the major ‘dropping off’ stop for the smugglers. There are narrow slit caves in the cliff almost at sea level. 

These let light into the large cave above the shore which was used by the smugglers to hide their goods. This cave is linked to the sea by a tunnel and this was their anchorage. 

The steep narrow track from the cliff top to the tunnels is still there today, but its dangerous, overgrown and out of bounds to all but the most reckless. After Dickmont Den, the footpath rises slightly giving more excellent views of the sea and the cliff face. 

And then, the long narrow stretch of grassy cliff top, complete with conveniently placed bench seat comes into view.  I sat myself there for a while watching the sea. 

August and September are good months to catch site of the dolphins swimming north to the Moray Firth, and today was a good day to dolphin watch. I spotted a pair swimming north, they were not playing and jumping, they only surfaced to get air and then carried on with their journey. Again, I wished for a good camera. With a good camera I could happily sit on that little bench, maybe take a picnic and admire the views waiting for the perfect photo opportunity. I didn’t bother even trying to get photos yesterday. The dolphins were too far out and my camera is not up to the job. 

This bench, beside being the place to dolphin spot, gives wonderful views of the stack known as De’ils’s Heid ( Devils Head). It was here that a new cave was discovered a couple of years ago. This cave was completely hidden from view, someone had filled in the hole in the cliff face leaving space to fit a door and porthole window with a roomy ‘cave’ space behind. This was then carpeted and fitted with furniture. There was a sturdy rope, chain and wood ladder from the cave ‘door’ to the sea below. So far, the ‘owner’ of this cave has not been found but the ladder has been removed to protect the public from their own stupidity. The long split running through the rock at the base of the De’il’s Heid is known as ‘the three story house’. This split widens and narrows along its length and only at its narrowest points can it be crossed.
Before I left home I had made a mental note of how far I wanted to go. My chosen destination for that day was a place called Maiden Castle. It’s not actually a castle; it is the ancient remains of a cliff top defensive settlement or fort. When I have shown people pictures of this in the past their automatic reaction is ‘oh that’s a long barrow, an ancient burial place’. I can see why they would think this, but its not, it’s a fort used by Iron Age people as a defensive dwelling place.  As you turn a corner in the cliff top path, Maiden Castle comes into view. 

And that is it for now.  I will continue with the tale of Maiden castle later.