"If I had any malice against a walking spirit, instead of laying him in the Red Sea, I would condemn him to reside in the Buller of Buchan."—Samuel Johnson. The Buller of Buchan, one of the most remarkable natural curiosities in Scotland, is about six miles south from Peterhead. It is a vast hollow in a rock projecting into the sea, open at the top, and communicating with the water by means of a natural arched passage, about fifty yards high. The basin within is nearly circular, about thirty yards in diameter; and around the extreme edge of the chasm is a narrow footpath, from which to the water in the abyss below, measures about thirty fathoms, To the above description, written in the autumn of 1773, little needs to be added: the wild features of the scene, and the effect produced upon the minds of travellers, continue to present nearly the same aspect and to awaken the same impressions as in the days of the great lexicographer. The scene of horror, however, is often enlivened by pic-nic parties from Peterhead, during the fine season, and is deservedly considered as one of the great "lions" on this coast, a title to which its continual "roar" gives it a more especial title. The geological features of this locality are very interesting. The rocks are of primitive granite, and appear to have been upheaved to the surface by some internal expansive force, and have an inclination from east to west of 25 degrees. Reposing upon the granite, is a bed of diluvial clay, of from ten to fifteen feet deep, containing numerous small water-worn stones, of different species of the secondary formation; besides large quantities of flint, originally imbedded in limestone, which must have been rolled from a great distance, as there are no beds of limestone on this coast, or in any of the neighbouring districts. From atmospheric action and other causes the rocks are rapidly disintegrating; and great quantities of dÉbris are annually accumulating at the bottom of the precipices, where wild grasses and lichens springing up produce, by their decomposition, a vegetable mould which is gradually increasing. |