CULLEN

'Cullen' (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Cuilinn'') is a picturesque town and former royal burgh in Moray, Scotland, on the North Sea coast 20 miles east of Elgin. The village has a population of 1,327 (2001). The heart of Robert the Bruce is said to be buried in its old kirk (church), which also contains many Templar graves, distinguished by distinctive skull and crossbones motif. The village is also famous for Cullen Skink, a traditional soup made from smoked haddock, as well as its four ex-railway bridges (three of which are viaducts), which are now part of the national cycle network.
The most westerly viaduct is highly photogenic, and appears often in tourist guides and in Scottish calendars.
Cullen received its first known burgh charter in 1455, from James II. The burgh was abolished in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

The old town of Cullen was demolished in 1822, although remains can still be seen next to Cullen House. The Earl of Seafield and Findlater moved the town half a mile away to provide himself with greater privacy, resulting in "the Seatown". The fishing industry developed shortly afterwards. The new town was planned by George MacWilliam, and built between 1820 and 1822.
The main part of Cullen House dates from 1543, but an east wing was added in 1711, while there were also alterations by David Bryce in 1858.
The town boasts an impressive beach and golf course, as well as the Crannoch wood which offers good views of the area, and the 1086ft high Bin of Cullen, a hill walk nearby.
Cullen was the setting for Doris Davidson's romantic novel The Three Kings, named after the three rocks that stand at the east end of Cullen beach. The local writer Simon Farquhar set his first two plays, Candy Floss Kisses and Elevenses with Twiggy, in the town, and they were subsequently produced by BBC Radio 4. Samuel Johnson had less passion for Cullen. According to James Boswell, writing in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, the pair considered that Cullen had "a comfortable appearance, though but a very small town, and the houses mostly poor buildings". Dr Johnson was also "disgusted by the sight of" the "dried haddocks broiled" that they were served for breakfast there and refused to eat them!

Contents

External links

External links

★ More information, with photos

★ The Seatown

★ Panorama from Cullen Pier (QuickTime required)

★ Census data

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