Autumn in Aberdeenshire 2

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St Drostan’s Church, Insch

More about the places we visited during our week in Aberdeenshire in October 2022!

St Drostan’s Church, Insch

Insch is a small market town close to our accommodation. I couldn’t resist the graveyard and the remains of the old parish church (enlarge first image below if you want more info).

Info board
Bellcote
West gable
Bellcote

As usual in the graveyard I was struck by the sad tales of infant mortality, but a new story presented itself here. Elspeth is a family name on my father’s side, and his father came from Aberdeenshire. I have rarely noticed this name on a gravestone before but there were many here, at least in the form of Elspet (and one Elspit).

Elspet Tough
Elspit Davidson
Elspet Hall
Elspet Cowie
Erected by Janet and Elspet Thom

Hill of Dunnideer

The small Hill of Dunnideer is just outside Insch. The summit is crowned by the ruins of a medieval castle built on the site of an ancient hill fort. We went up on a good day and were rewarded with extensive views.

Dunnideer Castle
Dunnideer Castle
Dunnideer Castle
View from Dunnideer
Bennachie from Dunnideer

Bennachie

The hill in the last view above is Bennachie which has several tops, the most prominent being Mither Tap. Here’s another view of it from the road.

Bennachie showing Mither Tap

We climbed Mither Tap a couple of days later in much gloomier conditions. We took the main path up and a more roundabout route down, and although we didn’t get the views we’d hoped for, there was plenty to interest us along the way.

Ruins of Cairn Couttie

First, the ruins of an old stone cottage, one of a few remnants of the Bennachie Colony, a crofting community which existed from 1825 to 1878. Originally this was common land where people could settle without paying rent, but in 1859 it was reassigned to the landowner Leslie of Balquhain and the occupants became tenants. Many were evicted and most had gone by the 1870s, though one man – stone dyker George Esson – remained till he died in 1939.

After a steepish climb we arrived at Mither Tap which is approached through the walls of an ancient hill fort. This guards the only side of the summit not protected by granite cliffs – but imagine carrying all that stone up manually in prehistoric times!

Approaching old hill fort on Mither Tap
Approaching old hill fort on Mither Tap
Approaching old hill fort on Mither Tap

At the top, we stopped to admire the non-existent views, while struggling to stay upright in howling wind. I’m really not sure why we chose this day for this walk!

On Mither Tap
On Mither Tap
On Mither Tap

We then began our descent, pausing frequently to look back at the rugged looking top.

Descending from Mither Tap
Looking back on Mither Tap
Looking back on Mither Tap
Looking back on Mither Tap
Descending from Mither Tap
Looking back on Mither Tap
Looking back on Mither Tap

There was more history to come though. We passed Dr Danny Gordon’s Widdie (woody) and Rev Dr James Wood’s Plantin’, marked by two small cairns. In 1973 Danny Gordon founded the Baillies of Bennachie, a group of volunteers who look after the hill. When he died, this small plantation was established instead of people sending flowers to his funeral. James Wood was his friend and fellow Baillie and his family established a similar plantation on his death.

Dr Danny Gordon’s Widdie
Rev Dr James Wood’s Plantin

Gouk means cuckoo in Doric, the language of lowland Aberdeenshire. There is a theory that this stone is called the Gouk Stone because it is the first place cuckoos land when they return to Bennachie each spring. To reflect this, a cracked cuckoo’s egg has been placed in the wall behind along with the words “the calling of the gouk is the other side of spring”.

Gouk Stone
At the Gouk Stone: cracked cuckoo’s egg

So although we didn’t get the views, we learned something!

Inverurie

Another market town we visited briefly was Inverurie. I liked their painted electrical boxes.

Town Hall
War memorial
Kintore Arms
Painted electrical box
Painted electrical box
River Urie

Stones and circles

Close to Inverurie we saw two Pictish symbol stones and later in the week we visited a complete stone circle (once again, enlarge info boards for more details).

Picardy symbol stone
Info board
Info board
Brandsbutt symbol stone
Info board
Easter Aquhorthies Stone Cirlce

Fraserburgh

Our main purpose in going to Fraserburgh was to visit Kinnaird Head lighthouse, now home to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. If it looks slightly unusual, that’s because it is the only lighthouse in the world to be built in a castle!

Kinnaird Head
Foghorn
Old castle

In the museum there were displays of different types of lenses and plenty of historical information. With my women’s history hat on I was drawn to the story of Jane Whyte who single-handedly rescued 15 men in 1884.

Glass lens
Glass lenses
Story of Jane Whyte

We were also taken on a tour of the lighthouse itself, in the old castle – right up to the top! Good views over Fraserburgh.

Top of the lighthouse
Inside the light
View of Fraserburgh harbour
View of Fraserburgh
View of the Wine Tower

The old stone building in the last image above is known as the Wine Tower which probably dates from the 1500s, though the name might be misleading.  We couldn’t go inside but apparently there are carvings depicting both the Frasers’ heraldic arms and Catholic symbols, leading to the theory that it could have been a chapel for Lord Alexander Fraser’s Catholic wife, Magdalen. There is also a ghostly legend attached to it about a laird locking his daughter in the tower because she fell in love with a piper. The piper was also imprisoned in a cave below where he drowned at high tide whereupon his lady-love threw herself from the window. It is said that ghostly pipes can still be heard, but we didn’t notice any!

From Kinnaird Head we went on to Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve, Britain’s largest dune loch, which was an interesting mix of birds and ponies. According to the RSPB website, they are restoring 22 hectares of fen meadow through a mixture of mechanical cutting and grazing by a herd of Konik ponies. The meadow had become dominated by soft rush – the ponies eat the rush making room for smaller, more delicate flowering plants.

The colours were lovely here.

Loch of Strathbeg
Loch of Strathbeg
Loch of Strathbeg
Loch of Strathbeg
Loch of Strathbeg
Loch of Strathbeg
Loch of Strathbeg

So, a bit of a hotch-potch but I was determined not to let this run into more than two posts. And I’ve completed writing about October 2022 during October 2023, so that’s got to be a result. Now, where did we go in November last year? Oh yes, London …

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58 Comments »

  1. Pingback: Y3 Story Chat Summary #1: “Fly-By-Night” by Janis Heppell – Marsha Ingrao – Always Write

  2. Kinnaird Head lighthouse looks amazing and so are the views from the top of it. What a truly wonderful part of the world to explore and photograph! Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to read more about your adventures around the bonny Scotland. Cheers, Aiva xx

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  4. Absolutely loved reading about your Aberdeenshire adventures! The mix of history, nature, and local legends truly brings the region to life. Can’t wait for your London tales! 🏞️🏰✨📖

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  6. Pingback: Y3 Story Chat #2: “Fly-by-Night” by Janis Heppell – Marsha Ingrao – Always Write

  7. Your pictures and narrative do an incredible job of sharing the flavor and history of the area. One of my closest friends just returned from a trip to Scotland. She loved every second of it and is ready to go back! Your windy trip up the hill sounds invigorating or exhausting; I’m not sure which. Seeing the lighthouse would have been great fun without any ghostly moans and groans. Speaking of ghostly, thanks so much for reading Janis’ scary story on Story Chat. I hope you enjoyed the fun.

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  8. Hi Anabel – oh well only a year behind!! Still lots to let us share – always happy to do. The Mither Tap walk/hike looks to be fascinating … pity about the weather that day. Jayne Whyte sounds so interesting – no wonder you picked her up (so to speak for your women’s group) – the lighthouse museum looks to be fascinating … lovely and thanks for sharing – cheers Hilary

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  9. I’ve been up the hill of dunnideer years ago and got chased by a herd of bullocks. It was touch and go as to whether they would eventually back down when we shouted or keep going straight into us. Happened a few times with bullocks. Shame Mither Tap was misty and cold. bob. BSS.

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  10. You two had fun wandering around gravesites whereas I had a Mum on repeat, pause and repeat regarding they as in the Resthome had her booked into a morgue. I replied, we are all booked in some sooner than others. Got to love lifes ironic moments.

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  13. You certainly pack a lot into your outings.

    I have a soft spot for Inverurie as it was there that I did my first teaching practice. I used to play a tune called the Back o’ Bennachie when my fingers were less stiff.

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  14. Hi, Anabel – I absolutely love old legends like the one about the Old Stone Wine Tour. So fascinating. That story definitely made me want to know more.
    I love following your continued gallivating and the incredible places that you explore.

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  15. More interesting stories and lovely views. I like the painted electricity boxes, I’ve seen a few in Dublin but there’s nothing like that round here. The glass lens in the lighthouse looks like it should be in a gallery as an art installation – much nicer than some of the things which pass for art these days. Favourite view? – the one of Bennachie and Mither Tap from the road, it’s beautiful 🙂

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  16. Loving the lighthouse museum inside a castle. Very regal. One of those lights does seem to have a 👀 face, don’t you think. The hill walk looks beautiful but steep! X

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  17. I’m interstate in lighthouses too. Traditionally, the mechanism was supported on a bath of mercury which, as you’d expect, could present some serious health risks. Was this the case here?
    When I worked for a major glass manufacturer they had a museum and one of the prize exhibits was a rotating lighthouse optic assembly and it was on a bath of mercury. One day the bath leaked and many hundreds, if not thousands, of litres of the toxic liquid were spilled on the floor of the museum. Our boss was quickly summoned by the Directors to advise on what to do!

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  20. I don’t know how you manage to remember what you were up to a year ago. I write my blog posts to help me do that. If I waited a year the memories would be lost in the mists of time 😂

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  21. Beautiful. I was surprised that the carved pictish stones are outside where they can be worn by weathering.
    It’s a long, long time since I was in Fraserburgh but it was lovely to see it again.

    I was thinking I need to check out the new bridge that arrived on the Clyde yesterday

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  24. So many beautiful views and fabulous stories. First time hearing of Jane Whyte so I looked up her story, it’s wonderful. A strong woman in every sense!

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