Down cliff in wellies

“Your recent Traces Through Time article with pictures of Auchmithie stirred some wonderful memories for me,” writes Sandra Mulford of Ceres.

“I lived in the Old Coast Guard Cottages situated right on top of the cliffs above Auchmithie harbour in the early 1950s. The harbour was still very much in use in those days and my elder brother and sister and I spent all of our free time playing on the shore and round the harbour area.

“The picture of the sheep that had fallen down the cliff reminded me of the day when I fell down the cliff directly beneath the cottages.

“My brother and sister had gone out ahead of me and were already down on the beach. I decided that it would be much quicker climbing down the cliff face, rather than using the pathway of ‘steps’ that had been cut into the steep grassy bank on the other side of the wall, which formed a barrier between the gable end of the cottages and the clifftop, only a few metres away from the cottages.

“However, I was wearing Wellington boots, which didn’t give me much grip, and soon after setting off, I lost my footing and plummeted down towards the shore. Thankfully, the vertical face of the cliff lasted only a few metres and I ended up rolling down a steep grassy bank until I came to rest on the shingly beach below!

“My brother and sister were terrified that I had come to serious harm, but fortunately my only injury was a few scratches.

“I am now in my 70th year and I’m sure my love of the seashore, rock-pooling and beachcombing stems from the wonderful years I spent at Auchmithie.”