Cullen
Cullen is an extremely attractive town originally built around the mouth of the Burn of Deskford approximately 22 miles west of Mitchell's Cottage and Gardenstown. When seen from the sea it is framed from behind by higher ground carrying a disused railway line over a series of spectacular viaducts.
Cullen (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Cuilinn) is a village and former royal burgh in Moray, Scotland, on the North Sea coast 20 miles east of Elgin. The village now has a population of 1,327. Cullen is noticeably busier in summer than winter due to the number of holiday homes owned. The organs of the wife of Robert the Bruce are said to have been buried in its old kirk (church) after her death in the area. Robert the Bruce made an annual payment to the village in gratitude for the treatment of his wife's body and its return south for burial. A recent non-payment of this sum by the government was challenged and settled to the village's favour.
The village is noted for Cullen Skink, a traditional soup made from smoked haddock, milk, potato and onion (not lizard), and its former railway bridges, two of which are now part of the national cycle network. These bridges were necessary at considerable cost due to resistance against the railway line being routed any closer to Cullen House. The most westerly, and by far the longest, viaduct is highly photogenic, and appears often in tourist guides and in Scottish calendars. Near Cullen is the peak Bin Hill, which is visible from some distance such as from Longman Hill.
The village has an impressive beach and golf course, and the Crannoch wood which offers good views of the area. The 1086 ft Bin Hill, Morayshire or Bin of Cullen is a nearby hill with an associated footpath.
Cullen was the setting for Doris Davidson's romantic novel The Three Kings, named after the three rocks 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 village, and they were produced by BBC Radio 4.