Cruden Bay

Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Location within Aberdeenshire
Population1,570 (2020)
OS grid referenceNK089363
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPETERHEAD
Postcode districtAB42
Dialling code01779 81
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Cruden Bay is a small village in Scotland, on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, 26 miles (42 km) north of Aberdeen.

Just west of Slains Castle, local tradition associates Cruden Bay with a supposed battle in which the Scots under King Malcolm II are said to have defeated the Danes in 1012; however, such accounts are regarded by historians as unsubstantiated and derive from much later sources. A traditional but unsubstantiated folk etymology derives the name from the Gaelic Croch Dain ('slaughter of Danes').

Today, Cruden Bay attracts tourists with its hotels and golf course. It has a long, unspoiled, beach made famous by Norwegian aviator Tryggve Gran who made the first solo flight across the North Sea.