Whinnyfold or Whinneyfold is a small coastal village at the southern end of the Bay of Cruden in
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...
, Scotland.
Whinnyfold (locally pronounced ''finnyfa'') is a clifftop hamlet of fisher cottages built in the 1860s,
replacing an older settlement one mile inland. Whinnyfold has no harbour, and fisherfolk had to scramble up and down a steep grass slope to access their boats and catches. Nevertheless, in the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century it was a thriving fishing community, supporting as many as 190 fishermen operating 24 boats and exporting fish as far afield as
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
.
During the herring boom the fishers abandoned the village for the summer season, seeking more lucrative employment in
Peterhead
Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...
. Enterprisingly, those left behind temporarily converted a few of the cottages into a series of tearooms serving the moneyed holidaymakers visiting
Cruden Bay. Among the visitors was
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
, author of ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
''.
Near the village, just off the south end of the Cruden sands, lies the treacherous area of semi-submerged rocks known as the Skares, the site of many shipwrecks and source of local lore, and inspiration to Stoker's novel The Mystery of the Sea.
Mechanisation of fishing and ever larger vessels, plus the impracticality of the site and the loss of rail links to key markets, put an end to commercial fishing at Whinnyfold. Today the village remains small and without amenities, served for local shops, school, medical practice and even public telephone by nearby Cruden Bay.
The Colliston to Whinnyfold Coast is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for nationally important colonies of cliff nesting seabirds, including kittiwake, guillemot, razorbill, fulmar and shag. It forms part of the Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast Special Protection Area.
References
External links
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Villages in Aberdeenshire
Buchan