Along the Moray coastline the sea has carved out many

caves and sea stack over time, however, nothing ever really prepares you for your first sight of the impressive Bow Fiddle Rock at Portknockie. Located just offshore, Bow Fiddle is some 50 feet in height and at low tide is still seen as a challenge by some who climb to the top. In earlier times it was a local rite of passage for young men to climb on Bow Fiddle Rock and collect gulls eggs.
Bow Fiddle Rock lies on the line of the Caledonian fold belt which runs from the west coast of Ireland through Scotland, the Shetland Isles and on to Norway. Bow Fiddle originated as sandstone layers formed in an ancient shallow sea. Over millions of years these sandstone layers were subjected to volcanic activity resulting in the layers being folded and producing much harder quartzite's. The shape of Bow Fiddle as we see it today is due to wave action wearing away the softer rock to leave the arch. File 8720.