Whinnyfold

The bay at Whinnyfold in 1990, still with boats pulled up on the beach

Whinnyfold or Whinneyfold is a small coastal village at the southern end of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, 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.

During the herring boom the fishers abandoned the village for the summer season, seeking more lucrative employment in Peterhead. 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, author of Dracula, who eventually retired to the place.

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.^[1] It forms part of the Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast Special Protection Area.^[2]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whinnyfold.

Settlements and places of interest in Buchan, Aberdeenshire
Primary settlements	Boddam Crimond Cruden Bay Fetterangus Hatton Longside Maud Mintlaw New Deer New Pitsligo Peterhead St Combs St Fergus Strichen Stuartfield
Other settlements	Auchnagatt Buchanhaven Clola Inverugie Lonmay New Leeds Old Deer Rora Tyrie Whinnyfold
Places of interest	Aden Country Park/Aberdeenshire Farming Museum Bullers of Buchan Crimonmogate Deer Abbey Formartine and Buchan Way Loch of Strathbeg Maritime Heritage Museum Rattray Rattray Head Slains Castle

Areas and primary settlements in Aberdeenshire (see also: Aberdeen City)
in Banff and Buchan	Aberchirder Banff Fraserburgh Gardenstown Inverallochy and Cairnbulg Macduff Portsoy Rosehearty Sandhaven Whitehills
in Buchan	Boddam Crimond Cruden Bay Fetterangus Hatton Longside Maud Mintlaw New Deer New Pitsligo Peterhead St Combs St Fergus Strichen Stuartfield
in Formartine	Balmedie Cuminestown Ellon Fyvie Newburgh Oldmeldrum Pitmedden Potterton Rothienorman Tarves Turriff
in Garioch	Blackburn Insch Inverurie Kemnay Kintore Newmachar Westhill
in Kincardine and Mearns	Drumoak Fettercairn Gourdon Inverbervie Johnshaven Laurencekirk Newtonhill Portlethen St Cyrus Stonehaven
in Marr	Aboyne Alford Ballater Banchory Braemar Huntly Lumphanan Tarland Torphins

Coordinates: 57°23′21″N 1°52′4″W / 57.38917°N 1.86778°W / 57.38917; -1.86778