Buckie – Harbour, Cultural History and Coastal Trails

Buckie offers travellers a variety of things to explore: harbour and cultural history, paths along the coast and golf. If you are looking for a hotel in Buckie, you can plan your trip around whichever of these topics matters most to you. The routes have different destinations and courses, and each golf course has its own characteristics. This makes it easier to decide what to focus on during your trip without treating the different paths and places as interchangeable.

Harbour, High Street and art

Built in 1877, Cluny Harbour was an important fishing port on the Moray Firth. Buckie’s Victorian High Street has independent shops, offering another perspective on the townscape alongside the harbour. Both places provide a tangible link to the town’s history: the former fishing port here, and a High Street with independent shops there.

The Peter Anson Gallery is closed. However, you can browse a catalogue of Peter Anson’s paintings free of charge at Buckie Library. Check the library’s current access information before visiting.

Little Norway and local history

During the Second World War, many Norwegian and Danish refugees settled in Buckie; the town was often called “Little Norway” at the time. The Little Norway Project explores the history of these Norwegian and Danish communities. It draws on archival sources, eyewitness accounts and personal stories, and uses storytelling. This means that, alongside the history of the harbour and town, the experiences of the people who settled in Buckie during the war are also brought into focus.

Routes starting or passing through Buckie

The Speyside Way starts or ends in Buckie. The Fishwives Walk also starts in the town. Another named route is the Fishwives Path to Keith: it runs for about thirteen miles from Buckie to Keith and passes farms and crofts along the way. This route is therefore described in terms of its approximate length, destination and some of the features along the way.

The Moray Coastal Trail passes directly through Buckie. Along the trail are rugged cliffs, caves, sheltered bays, fishing harbour towns and long sandy beaches. The entire walk can be completed in about 23 hours, or split into sections between the coastal communities from Buckie to Findhorn. For planning, the details offer different points of reference: the Fishwives Path is described in terms of its approximate distance to Keith, while the Coastal Trail is described in terms of its approximate total walking time and the option to split the route into sections.

The Moray Coastal Route also passes directly through Buckie. A regular bus service runs through the town and connects it with the rest of Moray. A coastal route and a regional bus service are therefore both among Buckie’s stated transport links.

Golf and views of the Moray Firth

Strathlene Buckie Golf Club was founded in 1877. Strathlene is a links golf course on a cliff. Buckpool Golf Club was built on sand and has fast, undulating fairways. These features distinguish the two courses: Strathlene is characterised by its links style and cliff-top location, while Buckpool is known for its sandy terrain and undulating fairways.

Buckpool Harbour Park offers views across the Moray Firth towards Caithness. Along with the harbour, coastal trails and golf, this gives you a choice of different themes to shape your trip to Buckie. You can focus on cultural history, include one of the named routes or compare the characteristics of the golf courses.

Discover more destinations: Findhorn, Glenlivet, Lossiemouth, Dufftown, Portknockie, Elgin, Burghead, Rafford

For the wider travel overview: Moray.