St Cyrus

Updated on Jan 29, 2024

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OS grid reference NO7171 Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district DD10 Local time Friday 2:01 AM Council area Aberdeenshire		Country Scotland Post town Montrose Police Scottish Dialling code 01674 Scottish parliament Angus North and Mearns

Weather 9°C, Wind SE at 13 km/h, 94% Humidity UK parliament constituency West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Lieutenancy areas Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire

Paragliding at st cyrus montrose scotland

St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus (Scots: Saunt Ceerus), formerly Ecclesgreig (from Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais Chiric) is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Map of St Cyrus, Montrose, UK

St cyrus montrose scotland paragliding in the rain o

General information

St Cyrus National Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve situated between the village and the North Sea. The cliffs and dunes provide a nationally important habitat for flowering plants and insects. Traditional salmon fishing with nets is still conducted from St Cyrus beach. Two ice houses that used to provide ice for packing salmon before transporting to market can still be seen. One is to the north end of the beach on the donkey track just below the Woodston Fishing Station, the other is further south next to Kirkside [this is now a private dwelling], not far from the Nature Reserve Visitor's Centre.

Area prehistory

There are known prehistorical archaeological sites in the general coastal area of St Cyrus. Examples of these features include Gourdon Hill to the north and the Stone of Morphie, both situated slightly to the west of the A92 road alignment.

History

The remains of the Kaim of Mathers is located on rock pinnacles on the northernmost part of the beach. Built by the Berkeley (or Barclay) family, it was used as a refuge by David de Berkely from the vengeance of the king when, around 1420, he was part of a group who murdered the local sheriff, John Melville of Glenbervie.

St Cyrus was on the Montrose to Inverbervie branch line of the North British Railway. This line was closed as part of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s. Evidence for the line can still be seen in the viaduct over the North Esk river to the south of St Cyrus and the remains of some railway embankments and road bridges to the north.

A Home Chain Low radar station was once situated on the cliffs immediately to the south of the village. A blockhouse can still be seen at its location.

Notable residents

Alexander Keith, D.D.

George Beattie

Services

St Cyrus has a primary school with a Nursery Class and P1 to P7 classes.

An active Scout Group, with a Beaver Colony (ages 6–8), a Cub Pack (ages 8–10½) and a Scout Troop (ages 10½-14). Beavers and Cubs meet on a Monday night and Scouts meet on a Sunday afternoon at the Scout Hall, off of Beach Road.

St Cyrus has its own telephone exchange (code ESSTC). The exchange is fully enabled for BT ADSL, both fixed speed and ADSL Max flavours.

St Cyrus has a convenience store located on the main road, which also serves as the Post Office. Opposite the store there is a public phone box. There is a public convenience on the junction of the A92 and Ecclesgreig Road at the north of the village. There is a garage at the south end of the village which, until 2013, had a petrol station.

St Cyrus has a public hall located not far from the store on the A92. It was used for meetings of the local community council until it disbanded in 2015, and a range of other activities. There is a sports pavilion at the local park, with an all-weather pitch and bowling green.

St Cyrus has a coffee shop (The Old Bakery) which has a gift shop within and also a local hotel (The Village Inn) which boasts The Great Scot bar. Both are situated on the main A92 road.

Situated approximately 1 mile North of St Cyrus, there is a residential caravan park which houses caravans for hire and permanent residents.

The Mearns Leader is the local weekly newspaper and The Courier is the regional newspaper, which is supplemented by a local community radio station, Mearns FM, that broadcasts from nearby Stonehaven. The station is not-for-profit, and is volunteer run under a Community Radio Licence. The Facebook page 'What's on St Cyrus' is the local social media page.

A defibrillator is located on Ecclesgreig Road.