Culbin
Culbin
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
46 reviews
Excellent
28
Very good
13
Average
1
Poor
3
Terrible
1
Fiona D
1 contribution
May 2024 • Family
It’s such a lovely woodland but absolutely eaten alive by bugs during May been 2 times and have huge bites that look like mosquitoes bites which living in the highlands I’ve never experienced this before except when I’ve been aboard and been eaten by them! They looked like tiny mosquitoes and were not horse flies or black flies/birch flies or midges! So not sure what bite me and the family but huge bites head to toe! Luckily it was just me and my husband and not the 3 kids. Maybe to do with the fact we sweat and they don’t
Bring bug spray/bite cream with you
May 2024
Bring bug spray/bite cream with you
May 2024
Written May 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
William M
Edinburgh, UK7 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
This was the second time we have visited the forest (our child is significantly older now) and it was just as good as we remember. We spent several hours cycling around all the different trails, and had a relaxing time at the gravelpit ponds watching the dragonflies and tiny frogs. Take a map as it is easy to get lost!
Written July 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CulbinSands
Elgin, UK285 contributions
Aug 2023
Want a forest walk or a walk along the beach, Culbin offers both. It is about 3 miles from the carpark to the beach. The beach offers wonderful views of the Moray Firth and the Black Isle. Soft white sand and the opportunity to observe seals and other marine creatures. It is worth the effort to follow the wide forest track to Buckie Loch.
Written August 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jennifer C
Edinburgh, UK196 contributions
Sep 2024 • Friends
We went on the 99 trail. Unfortunately we took a wrong turning and walked a lot more however had such a great day. The view top is worth a look but I am terrified of heights so only made it up one flight of stairs, amazing mushrooms all around the forest and worth a visit!
Written October 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma C
Choppington, UK82 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
Lovely forest, and well maintained. We did the hilfort trail, very well waymarked, as is usual in Scottish forests, climbed the fort and the views were amazing. There are handy maps available at the carpark, again this is usual in Scotland (in my experience). Toilets are available in the carpark. Would love to go back and try a different route. I only dropped one point because the pay machine was out of order and the only way to pay was by app, which I could not download in the middle of a forest, so ended up not paying, which I am very much against as the parking fees are usually used on the upkeep of the carpark/ forest. I always pay to park in these type of places. If you want my money, make sure the machine is working please.
Written April 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mickhilton
Kinloss, UK56 contributions
Nov 2020
The Culbin is a large, mainly wooded, area outside Forres. It has it's own parking, which costs a small fee. You can walk, run, cycle, ride horses etc around the whole area. There are several types of track, with some more narrow or sandier than others. I find it a great place to run round. Even when the car park is busy, the area itself is so large you can do 5 miles and not see a soul. There is a site map by the car park, and it's located about 10 minutes drive from Forres itself.
Written November 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ann H
York, UK2,582 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
There are several walks through this beautiful forest and the beach is at the end of one of them. Walks uphill that give you fantastic views of the surrounding vista. Good signage so you don't get lost. There is a large car park and toilets. There is a ticket machine for the car park. This a beautiful part of the world and well worth the time for a visit.
Written May 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Niki M
Glasgow, UK29 contributions
Jun 2022 • Friends
So myself and two of my family members went for a walk into Culbin Forest on Tue 21st June 2022. A couple of miles in we reached the tall viewing platform and all was great. We then made a plan to hit the sandy beach/mud flat area, so we weaved back through the forest a few miles to get there, on the way Mosquitoes started biting us. I had no idea there even were mosquitoes in that forest and I had shorts and T-shirt on, I must have walked 5-6 miles back to the car park, close to heat exhaustion and bitten all the way. I had a huge fever that night, took a week long flu, felt close to death a few times, gained an upper respiratory infection and my bites (over 40) got infected, doubled in size and I'm now on antibiotics and just now starting to recover.
DO NOT walk into this forest without being covered head to toe and I also suggest if you do take at least 2 bottles of water per person and have Antihistamines in your car. This park is approx 21 miles long and 8 miles wide so in my opinion it's best done by bike. I'm pretty fit and I was literally exhausted when I reached the car.
If your sensitive to bites/prone to anaphylaxic shock, if your old or a family with young children, be very cautious going into this HUGE park with millions of big ravenous mosquitoes. Cover up real good, have the best repellent money can buy, have lots of water, antihistamines with you and if you can bike it, I strongly suggest biking it.
The park itself in places is very beautiful, especially where the sand dunes encroach through the forest but honestly it soon turned into a total nightmare for me personally and left me really badly bitten and extremely ill for a week, so PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND PREPARED!!!!
DO NOT walk into this forest without being covered head to toe and I also suggest if you do take at least 2 bottles of water per person and have Antihistamines in your car. This park is approx 21 miles long and 8 miles wide so in my opinion it's best done by bike. I'm pretty fit and I was literally exhausted when I reached the car.
If your sensitive to bites/prone to anaphylaxic shock, if your old or a family with young children, be very cautious going into this HUGE park with millions of big ravenous mosquitoes. Cover up real good, have the best repellent money can buy, have lots of water, antihistamines with you and if you can bike it, I strongly suggest biking it.
The park itself in places is very beautiful, especially where the sand dunes encroach through the forest but honestly it soon turned into a total nightmare for me personally and left me really badly bitten and extremely ill for a week, so PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND PREPARED!!!!
Written June 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CulbinSands
Elgin, UK285 contributions
Jul 2016 • Solo
This forest and adjoining beach is remarkable. From the toilets in the carpark, the maps provided, the view from the watch tower ( Trail 99), the trails, the wildlife, giant ant nests, seals, dunes, lost villages and unexploded rockets.
You really need to visit the website.
scotland.forestry.gov.uk/visit/culbin
You really need to visit the website.
scotland.forestry.gov.uk/visit/culbin
Written July 2, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
shaun r
14 contributions
Jul 2017 • Couples
the following is taken from Forestry Commission Scotland website....
Archive research has shown that there were likely only 5 farms and some 735 acres of cultivated land, however, the Kinnaird Estate was said to comprise a great house, church, thousands of acres of fertile lands and orchards and up to sixteen associated farms.According to some, the constantly moving sands seem to have shifted enough over the years to reveal a dovecote, chapel and even parts of a manor house (perhaps during the big storm noted above in about 1800)
i have visited Culbin yearly since childhood,i loved hearing Culbin's myths,then walking along it's beautiful beaches,knowing something special lay trapped in time beneath the sands
Archive research has shown that there were likely only 5 farms and some 735 acres of cultivated land, however, the Kinnaird Estate was said to comprise a great house, church, thousands of acres of fertile lands and orchards and up to sixteen associated farms.According to some, the constantly moving sands seem to have shifted enough over the years to reveal a dovecote, chapel and even parts of a manor house (perhaps during the big storm noted above in about 1800)
i have visited Culbin yearly since childhood,i loved hearing Culbin's myths,then walking along it's beautiful beaches,knowing something special lay trapped in time beneath the sands
Written February 12, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi
Is there a path to the mouth of the Findhorn
Thankss
Written November 4, 2019
At the ticket machine is a box containing wonderful illustrated maps for free. At each junction there are numbered posts that allow you to fix your location.
Written August 1, 2019
Which road do you take off the A96 from Forres to get there?
Written July 16, 2019
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