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United Kingdom

Scotland

Aberdeenshire

Royal Burgh Of Arbroath

The Needle's Eye Sea Arch – The Deil's Heid Sea Stack loop from Seaton Cliffs Nature Reserve

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

United Kingdom

Scotland

Aberdeenshire

Royal Burgh Of Arbroath

The Needle's Eye Sea Arch – The Deil's Heid Sea Stack loop from Seaton Cliffs Nature Reserve

Easy

hikers

The Needle's Eye Sea Arch – The Deil's Heid Sea Stack loop from Seaton Cliffs Nature Reserve

01:12

4.53km

50m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Last updated: June 18, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

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2.07 km

The Needle's Eye Sea Arch

Highlight • Viewpoint

The Needle's Eye is an impressive sea arch, once the entrance to a cave before its collapse. Historically the sea level was much higher here and the cave would have looked out onto a beach.

Tip by

2.12 km

Mermaid's Kirk Cove

Highlight • Natural

Mermaid‘s Kirk is accessible by foot and by boat from the sea. It is located below the Cliff Trail and just left of the Needle‘s Eye.

Tip by

2.23 km

The Crusie Sea Cave and Blowhole

Highlight • Cave

A subtidal sea cave at the end of a tidal inlet/geo, the name 'The Crusie' refers to a prominent blow hole on the west side of the inlet.

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2.46 km

Dickmont's Den: Sea Cliffs and Inlet

Highlight • Viewpoint

An inlet along the sea cliffs. 'Smuggler's cave can be seen on it's north side. The shore can be reached by the grassy slope at the far end of the inlet.

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2.61 km

Smugglers' Cave

Highlight • Natural

There are many different coastal erosion features as you ride easterly along the coastal trail. There is a good tarmac path that goes maybe 1.5 miles east. This cave is …

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2.79 km

the cliffs are busy normally, with some sections of the tarmac and hardpack gravel closed due to instability. proceed with caution and be respectful to other path users given the exposure they may face

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3.03 km

The Deil's Heid Sea Stack

Highlight • Viewpoint

The Deil's Heid (Scots for 'The Devil's Head') is a sea stack sticking out of the cliffs and can be reached even at high tide.

Tip by

3.27 km

Mason's Cave

Highlight • Natural Monument

This cave can be reached at low tide from the pebble beach. It is quite deep, and a torch is needed to find the back of it.

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4.53 km

End point

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

3.19 km

962 m

337 m

Surfaces

2.22 km

1.26 km

962 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Wednesday 24 June

15°C

12°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 14.0 km/h

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Comments

July 24, 2023,The arch – The Needle Runde von Cliffburn

Walk is mostly on tarmac. You can leave it and climb on the cliffs, but it is steep in most of the places (see one of the pictures). Some people did even climb on top of the Needle's eye but I would NOT recommend that for various reasons. The way back is through a farm and on a road so …

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The Needle's Eye Sea Arch – The Deil's Heid Sea Stack loop from Seaton Cliffs Nature Reserve

The Needle's Eye Sea Arch

Mermaid's Kirk Cove

The Crusie Sea Cave and Blowhole

Dickmont's Den: Sea Cliffs and Inlet

Smugglers' Cave

View of the Red Cliffs

The Deil's Heid Sea Stack

Mason's Cave

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