Oe'r the Watter; Anna and Whitelinks Bay

Grey Granite had never been beyond the school, hall and kirk in Inverallochy so a circular walk from the harbour at the west end of adjoining Cairnbulg  along Shore Street and then over Whitelinks Bay returning along the line of the disused railway was something of an adventure. This was a very pleasant walk, marred only by a slight haar which reduced the possibilities for photographs.

Cairnbulg harbour was built from concrete blocks which had been used as coastal defence during  WW2. An earlier attempt at building a harbour had run out of money. The harbour now functions as a marina. On  a clear day there must be a terrific view over Fraserburgh Bay.

Cairnbulg Briggs and the wreck not of Anna but of a fishing vessel which went down towards the end of the last century and provides a useful indicator of the state of the tide for Grey Granite and Rufus as they walk down to Fraserburgh beach.

A single boat drawn up on Whitelinks Bay close to the remains of the concrete enclosure which gave protection to boats.



We left the beach by a track leading up from the shore by the 'harbour' which can just be seen in the background behind the old containers and corrugated iron shed. The murals on the containers are beautifully painted Grey Granite wonders if this was a community project at some time. The track led across the golf course and on to join  a tarred road along the line of the old St. Combs Light Railway.

The painting on the container depicts the wreck of Anna which went down on 9th December 1959. All the crew were saved from the Finnish vessel but the cargo of wooden spars was strewn along the shore. M remembers his one and only journey on the 'Belger Trainie' along with his friend Ricky whose Dad was the 'Ferret' for the Fraserburgh Herald. The Ferret had gone to report on the shipwreck for the Herald and found that locals were 'rescuing' the timber cargo.  By burying their bounty in the sand they were able to avoid having to give it up to the policemen guarding the wreck. Many new wooden sheds are said appeared in the villages soon after the incident.