Hopeman
Hopeman is a fishing village which sits along the Moray coast between Burghead and Covesea.
The village as we know it today, was established in 1805 by William Young who saw its potential as a fishing port. Nowadays its harbour, which was completed in 1840, is a marina for pleasure boats and water sports activities, but it’s also a home port for local lobster fishermen.
It’s thought that Hopeman got its name from French sailors who smuggled wines, brandies and other items from, mainly, the Bordeaux region via Ireland and the Outer Hebrides before heading south to the Moray coast. On sight of landfall “Le Haut Mont” would be shouted to alert sailors that they were approaching their destination. Over the years, Le Haut Mont (which means the high hill) was misquoted, mistranslated and misspoken to become The Haudment and, nowadays Hopeman.
We have no idea what the meaning of this apparent stone circle is or what it represents but Martyn calls it Hope Henge.
Hopeman’s hand cranked crane was built in 1859 in Glasgow and was previously used on the Clyde. It was brought here in the early 1920s by a Colin McDonald from Orkney and was used to load and unload the boats. It remained operational until 1979. Unfortunately the years and sea weather hadn’t been kind to this hard working crane and it was very corroded and destined to be scrapped before Sparrows Offshore Cranes stepped in to refurbish it in 2012.
Like a lot of the sea towns along the Moray coast, Hopeman has two beaches. The West Beach has a fine sandy beach with cafes and a caravan park. The East Beach is more popular with it’s mini coves and rockpools. It’s also where you’ll find Hopeman’s famous beach huts.
We met a beach hut owner called John who was only too pleased to show us around his hut. He told us that most of the huts are family owned and are, in the main, passed down from one family member to another, but they do very occasionally come up for rent.
At the far end of the East Beach lies the remains of Hopeman’s Braemou Well. It’s no longer functioning but it was the main clean source of water to the village and fisherwomen and their children used to carry it up to the village. It was also believed to be a holy well with healing properties and as early as the 17th Century people travelled to the well in search of its healing powers. It was usual for a small token to be left as a gift for the well’s spirit.
Hopeman has a range of independent shops, cafes, a golf course and historic buildings aplenty, which are well worth a visit. We concentrated on the harbour and beach areas this time, but Hopeman lies along the coastal path and there are many walks and interesting places to explore in this lovely little town.