Cullen Sunset

This is midsummer in Cullen. This wee place is worth a visit any time. It faces north, out into the Moray Firth, and all the time I lived near there it never ceased to surprise me how far north the sun set around midsummer. Almost the land of ‘the simmer dim’, in fact - an expression they use even further north to describe the way the sunset merges with the dawn and it never gets very dark.

I have heard that a couple of streets in Cullen used to be called ‘Little Glasgow’ - a reminder of how popular the place is with holiday folk. Small wonder, with a scenic fisher-toun below and a later ‘new town’ above, Cullen is full of charm - as well as a good selection of shops.

In fact, it has of recent years picked up what almost could be seen as ‘critical mass’ - one antique shop or one gallery or gift shop encouraging another, so that now there is plenty of browsing opportunity. (But it’s got a decent Co-op as well for the basics!)

All that, plus a wacky golf course and a splendid walk along the old trackbed of its long-vanished coastal rail link - and not forgetting beaches and cliffs to east and west - mean that Cullen is just, well, a super wee town/village on the Moray Firth. (Actually, it’s my favourite.)

And about the painting? Oh aye. It’s mostly in gouache with some water-soluble crayon (but not the stuff you’ll use in kiddies’ playgroups!) - Derwent Inktense, actually.