Heading north on the A92 from Montrose, you cross the River North Esk on a viaduct. This brings us into the historic county of Kincardineshire (also known as The Mearns). After rounding a tight bend, take the narrow road branching immediately right, signed for St Cyrus Beach. We pass beneath the abandoned railway viaduct that also spans the river. After almost a mile and a half, we reach St Cyrus Nature Reserve. Toilets and a small visitors centre are located next to the car park. You can pick up a leaflet outing the mile-long circular Tyrie Trail which winds its way around the land situated between the cliffs and beach. More information about the reserve can be found on this PDF file.
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Follow the waymarked route from the visitors centre in a clockwise direction. You soon pass an old icehouse previously used to store salmon but now converted to a sunken private residence. Rocky crags rise to your left and the path passes through grassland alive with insects and birds. We encounter an old graveyard before a red marker post instructs us to swing right. Watch out for this as a stony path does continue alongside the cliffs, eventually climbing steeply up to St Cyrus village. We are now doubling back towards the car park. You can't miss a long narrow wooden bridge leading away to the left. It actually crosses the old bed of the North Esk and a path continues over the dunes to the beach. The river carved a more direct path to the sea during a violent storm in 1879. The bridge route offers an optional extension to the walk. Up in the village, the Old Bakery offers an excellent range of refreshments.
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