Cummingston

Cummingston is a small village along the road between Burghead and Hopeman. It’s easy to pass through without noticing what hides behind the facade of houses until you turn into Seaview Road, the only junction in the village. This leads down to a car park.

This is where Cummingston suddenly becomes remarkable. The car park is large enough for about eight cars, has toilets, and a generously-sized playpark for this size of the village, with a cheeky slide that takes you down to the beach.

Well, it takes you down to the Moray Coast Trail actually, the 50-mile pathway that runs between Forres and Cullen.

But what makes this section interesting is the stretch of coastline which is peppered with sea stacks, caves and cliffs.

It’s commonly used by local and visiting mountaineering clubs for abseil practice. Check out the dozens of climbs logged on UK Climbing and Scottish Bloc’s excellent bouldering guide to Cummingston and Primrose Bay .

You don’t have to be into climbing to walk the Moray Coast Trail and and you can enjoy a walk to Burghead or Hopeman. If you’re lucky, it will be windy and you’ll witness the North Sea crashing against the rocks, and luckier still if the tide is out and you can walk along the beach and step inside some of the caves.