Day 76: Bennachie Hills to Portlethen, Aberdeenshire

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

21st March 2021: 98.86km walked today taking the total to 7776.21/8868km. 15% of 81 entries submitting 659.07km.

The highlights on our walk today are Bennachie Forest, Castle Fraser and Aberdeen.

Route 21: Inverness to Aberdeen

Route 22: Aberdeen to St Andrews

We leave the A96 at the Kellockbank Garden Centre, 16.5 kilometres after leaving Huntly. We follow our route around the outskirts of Insch to bring us onto the B9002 where we approach the Bennachie Hills path.

We turn east along the base of the Bennachie Hills to climb their peaks; Bennachie meaning ‘hill of the breast’ and pronounced ‘Ben-a-hee’. This range of hills has several peaks, the highest of which is Oxen Craig (528m) followed closely by the very prominent Mither Tap (518m). The Mither Tap, meaning ‘Mother Top’, is named in a way that historians believe the hills were of important religious significance in the Bronze Age; there are several standing stones in the area. At the summit of Mither Tap is an Iron Age fort commanding panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The Hills are managed by Forestry and Land Scotland and popular with walkers. We climb the well-maintained paths up the heather and grass-coated hillside reaching Oxen Craig first, then Mither Tap to enjoy the sweeping views and the hill fort remains, before making our way down the south side path.

We follow the trail through Bennachie Forest alongside the Clachie Burn heading towards the Bennachie Visitor Centre. As we do so we are walking part of The Gordon Way, a hiking trail running 18.5 kilometres from the Bennachie Visitor Centre, through the forest, to Suie Hill car park in the west. Near the burn is also the remains of The Colony, a community of squatters who existed here from 1800-59. They came here having been cleared from their land and lived a rent-free crofting life, doing skilled work for locals; they were living on commonty land, open land shared by landlords. This moorland wasn’t meant to be lived on; it was for common grazing and gathering of wood, peat, stone and moss. In 1859 the landlords acted, divided the land and started to charge rent which resulted in the colony’s decline. You can follow the Bennachie Colony Trail to see the remains of this short-lived community.

From the Visitor Centre, we take the road between Gallows Hill and Hill of Whitecross, through Chapel of Garioch passing Balquhain Castle of Duguid en route. This castle isn’t accessible; constructed in the 14th century it belonged to the Leslies of Balquhain. Mary Queen of Scots was entertained here in 1562, the castle eventually meeting its fate at the hands of the Duke of Cumberland who burned it in 1746; it was then abandoned. We are back on the A96 to pass through Inverurie and Port Elphinstone. Inverurie sits near where the River Don and the River Ury meet and as a result saw many conflicts. History stretches back 1,000 years here. The Bass motte and bailey castle, dating from the 1100s, remains an impressive mound located within a large cemetery. The town grew steadily through the centuries, Port Elphinstone becoming its river port; the port was linked to the Aberdeen Canal in 1805, to be filled in again in 1854 to carry the railway tracks. We turn right onto the B993 at Port Elphinstone to take roads southwest around the outskirts of Kemnay to Castle Fraser.

We reach Castle Fraser via a trail through its woods. It’s a superb tower house, one of the largest in Scotland, dating back to 1454, when James II granted the lands of Muchall and Stoneywood to Thomas Fraser. At first, it was known as Muchill-in-Mar Castle and the Frasers prospered here until, to clear family debts, in 1674 Charles Fraser sold the castle and its estate to John Erskine, Earl of Mar. In return, the family were allowed to live at the castle, called Castle Fraser from 1695, but it meant Charles was bound for life to Mar and had to oblige Sir John and raise the standard for the Jacobite Uprising of 1715. After this he became a fugitive, dying the following year falling from the Pennan cliffs. 

After 1787 a Fraser spinster inherited the castle after a complex number of inheritances, and her nephew’s son Charles MacKenzie inherited the castle taking the name of Charles MacKenzie Fraser. Throughout this time improvements and additions were made to the structure. By 1921 the castle, empty and derelict, was put on the market and purchased as a renovations project. Interestingly, its last owner was Lavinia Pearson, who inherited it from her father in 1946; her husband, Major Michael Smiley ran the estate. During World War 2 the Major had been a prisoner of war at Colditz Castle and was one of the 11 British men to escape it. In 1976, the owner gave the castle and 26 acres of the land to the National Trust for Scotland, who in 1993 purchased a further 320 acres so it sat within its original lands. In more recent years, the castle was used as a backdrop for the film ‘The Queen’ (2006).

As we look at the castle today it looks much as it would have done in 1636, when the Baronial style was added. We enjoy our visit through its rooms and views from its Round Tower, as well as the castle’s quirky features: laird’s lug, hidden trap doors, secret staircases and spy holes! Of course, a castle wouldn’t be complete without its ghost stories. Legend has it that a young princess was murdered here leaving a bloodstain on the stairs requiring them to be boarded over. Screams have been heard in the corridors as well as piano music coming from empty rooms! Suitably impressed we retrace our steps back onto the A96 which takes us past Aberdeen Airport and into the old heart of Aberdeen.

Aberdeen, meaning ‘mouth of the Don’, is the 3rd largest city in Scotland, beginning life in circa6000 BC and developing as 2 separate burghs which didn’t unite until 1891: Old Aberdeen on the mouth of the River Don and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement where the Denburn Waterway meets the River Dee estuary. Old Aberdeen received its Royal Burgh status from David I and its first charter from William the Lion, his grandson, in 1179. It was David I that established Aberdeen Harbour in 1136; the Guinness Book of Business Records states it as the oldest existing business in the UK. The harbour was integral to the economic success of the burgh which grew up around it. Over the centuries the city has been plundered, ransacked, stormed, sieged, bombed and plagued; the latter killing a quarter of its population in 1647. Its traditional industries of fishing, shipbuilding, quarried stone, and textiles relied on the port that would later support the offshore oil, gas and, more recently, renewables industries. As Old and New Aberdeen grew, they were incorporated into what would become a city in 1891.

Since the North Sea Oil developments in the 1970s, it has become known as the ‘oil capital of Europe’. Recent changes within the energy industry are seeing Aberdeen seeking to transform the city’s potential to become a clean energy hub, using much of its existing infrastructure. In collaboration with the energy companies, the industry is looking to decarbonise offshore operations and develop the world’s first net-zero oil and gas basin. The city has 2 universities: Aberdeen University (1495) which we’ll visit shortly and Robert Gordon’s University (RGU - 1992), whose campus is in Garthdee. There are a good number of leisure facilities in the city as well as a long esplanade alongside the sandy beach; the Kings Links Golf Course runs along part of its length and Codona’s Amusement Park sits at its end. The football team, Aberdeen FC, remain the only Scottish football club to have won two European trophies.

We follow the A96 into north Aberdeen where we follow roads to pick up the River Don Path. The River Don courses for 81 miles from the peat flats of Druim na Feithe, in the shadow of Glen Avon, to the North Sea coast here. We walk the river course taking us along the edge of Seaton Park and around Aberdeen University Hillhead Campus to reach Brig O’Balgownie. The bridge, situated over a deep pool in the river called the Black Neuk, is believed to have been constructed in the late 13th - early 14th century and thought to be the oldest in Scotland. Until the current road bridge was built further downstream in 1827 it was the only route north from the city and therefore of strategic importance; it has been repaired several times across the centuries. From here we head south next to the Campus buildings to cut through woods onto Seaton Park, passing a fountain to join Cathedral Walk. Seaton Park is one of Aberdeen’s largest parks (27 hectares), bought along with Seaton House in 1947 by the city from Major Hay. The house, which stood near where the fountain stands today, was destroyed by fire in 1963. The park offers many walks, a children’s play area (including ‘Mr Therm’ steam engine who used to pull coal in the Aberdeen area, now converted to play equipment), as well as football pitches and gardens.

As we walk down Cathedral Walk the spires of St Machar’s Cathedral are in full view. We wander uphill into the church graveyard and through the Cathedral itself, said to be sited on a spot where St Machar founded a chapel in AD 581. This building was founded in 1136 and completed by 1552, referred to as a fortified kirk; the two towers being built similarly to tower houses. Old Aberdeen was formed around St Machar Cathedral, the university following in 1495. In 1305 a quarter of William Wallace’s body was sent here after his execution and was buried in the new cathedral walls; his body parts were sent to different parts of the country to deter dissenters. Anything of value in the structure was lost during the Reformation and the conflicts that followed in the 1600s. Over the centuries there have been numerous repairs and restorations, externally and internally, to make it the structure you see today. Post-reformation it became a High Kirk for the Church of Scotland, and is still an active church, a cathedral in name today only.

From the cathedral, we make our way out the churchyard onto The Chanonry, passing Cruickshanks Botanic Gardens, turning right onto St Machar Drive to reach Sir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen University’s academic library. Completed in 2011, the library is a cube structure, designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects; the foundations are of Caithness stone and the floors encased in zebra-like white and clear glass panels. Above ground, the library holds over 400,000 books on 13 kilometres of shelving; it is also home to the University's historic collections. The library is named after the Principal of the university, Sir Duncan Rice (1990–2006), who was in office at the time the plans and fundraising for the library were put together. In 2013 it won the RIAS award and a Royal Institute of British Architects National Award; it is also stated to be one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. We enjoy visiting the interior, which takes on an organic form of white layers which change shape through the levels. Exiting the library, we pass Evolutionary Loop 517, a 6.25-metre bronze sculpture by Nasser Azam which was installed in 2012.

From the library, we find our way onto High Street through Church Walk. Looking to the left, at the top of the street, we see King’s Museum and the Mercat Cross of Old Aberdeen. The museum is in the Old Town House completed in 1789, which holds temporary exhibits of different university collections, currently closed for renovations until towards the end of 2020. This whole area is for the most part Aberdeen University campus today; there are businesses and residential properties here, but they are often connected to the University in some way. The oldest campus building on the High Street is that of King’s College, alongside Elphinstone Hall, which we wander past on the cobbled street as we enjoy its architecture. We pass by The Powis Gate before turning left onto University Road leading us to King Street. The gate is worth a mention, erected by Hugh Fraser Leslie of Powis in 1834, the owner of an estate which once lay behind them and is now part of the University. There are busts on the arch which are said to display a link to the family’s involvement in the freeing of their Jamaican slaves.

As we walk down King Street to Castlegate, we see the buildings constructed between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries from locally quarried grey granite. The stone gave the city its nickname ‘the granite city’, very drab on a dull day but in the sunlight, due to the high mica content of the stone, the buildings sparkle. This famous stone has also been used to build London’s Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Waterloo Bridge and the Thames Embankment; a large amount was also used in the construction of the Forth Rail Bridge. The Rubislaw Quarry, located in the Rubislaw area of Aberdeen, is the biggest man-made hole in Europe; it closed in 1971 and is now full of water.

We arrive at Castlegate which is part of Castle Street, although it is a pedestrianised area today. The area is so-called because the castle gates once stood here until they were destroyed along with the castle in 1308 by Robert the Bruce. The area was also used as a site of execution; hence the road nearby being called Gallowgate. Aberdeen's impressive 21-foot high Mercat Cross was built in 1686 by John Montgomery, originally positioned slightly west of its present location having been moved in 1842. It has a central staircase leading onto a platform, designed in this way so people could climb to the top and proclaim newly crowned monarchs. From the 1700s the Gordon Highlanders were stationed to the east of Castle Street until the barracks were demolished in 1965 and the regiment relocated to Bridge of Don. The Gordon Highlanders Statue was erected here to commemorate this, sculpted by Mark Richards and unveiled in 2011. Behind the Mercat Cross stands a baronial style granite tower, part of the Citadel of The Salvation Army constructed between 1893 -1896 and is still owned by them today.

As we move from King Street onto Union Street, a street over 200 years old itself, we see The Tolbooth and Town House on the right. It is Aberdeen’s oldest building, built between 1616-1629 and functioned as a jail. It is now home to a museum about the development of crime and punishment and includes an exhibit of the original cells which held Jacobite prisoners post-Culloden. It is said to be Scotland’s most haunted building and as such has had several paranormal teams investigate.

Just to our right on Broad Street, we see Marischal College built in 2 phases from the 1830s-1906, which is now part of the University of Aberdeen. It is the second-largest granite building in the world which is now occupied by Aberdeen City Council.

From here we retrace our steps and turn down Shiprow, heading towards the harbour passing Aberdeen Maritime Museum. It is housed in several converted buildings including an old church and, what was once, the 16th century home of Provost Ross and now the oldest domestic building in Aberdeen. The museum is full of the area’s rich maritime history, and also includes a section on the North Sea oil industry, the only exhibit of its type in the UK. From the museum, we soon arrive at Victoria Dock where Aberdeen’s Ferry Terminal is based and, as we walk along, we see a large and impressive harbour. The offshore oil supply ships are berthed here which are particularly impressive. We continue past Albert Basin to cross the Victoria Bridge into Torry.

Torry was once its own royal burgh, having been in existence since the 12th century; it was incorporated into Aberdeen in 1891 after Victoria Bridge was built in 1887. Torry had a famous fishing community but a lot of other industries also took place here. Most of Old Torry’s fishermen’s cottages were demolished to change the course of the River Dee to accommodate the new bridge. The area went through a period of decline, with the loss of industries over the years, and is now a priority area for regeneration. We follow the roads and path along the shore of the River Dee to the harbour entrance. In 1909, thousands of people gathered along the harbour sides to watch the world-famous magician and escapologist, Harry Houdini, dive into the chilly waters chained and handcuffed, only to emerge free moments later. In August 2019, Aberdonian magician, Dave Goulding performed the same escape act in the icy harbour waters near Waterloo Quay.

The fortified Torry Battery, located at the entrance to the harbour, was constructed in 1860 and defended the area throughout the two World Wars. After World War 2, it became home to some homeless families who lived here until the early 1950s. It was decommissioned in 1956 and is now a scheduled monument, the buildings having been restored in the 1970s. From the Battery, we reach Walker Park and Girdle Ness Lighthouse on a peninsula between Greyhope Bay and Nigg Bay. The light was completed in 1833 by Robert Stevenson and was automated in 1991. We watch for dolphins who frequent the area before continuing round the shore of Nigg Bay, walking the coastal path for 6.6 kilometres to Cove Bay.

Cove Bay, known as ‘Cove’ or ‘The Cove’ to locals, was once a separate fishing village but was incorporated into Aberdeen in 1975. Historically known as ‘Cove’ until 1912 when ‘Bay’ was added, the settlement developed its fishing industry around a natural harbour, which was enhanced in 1878. The village lies to the east of the ancient drovers’ road called Causey Mounth, which was developed over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in the 12th century as an access route between Stonehaven and Aberdeen (though some sections are believed prehistoric). This continued in use until the mid-20th century when the A90 was constructed. Most of the route today is a footpath, a part is an actual causeway built over Portlethen Moss (a boggy area), and some sections have disappeared altogether to become parts of fields etc.

There is a Conservation Area in the village, as two communities existed in Cove Bay during the 18th and 19th centuries: the fishermen near the harbour and the Cove granite quarriers nearest the access to the quarry. Cove granite gained a reputation for being one of the hardest granites. Being highly resistant to frost made it ideal for use as causeway stones in the construction of roads and was transported in large quantities to England for this purpose. Cove Bay is a commuter suburb these days; some part-time shell-fishing occurs out of the harbour, but most fishing declined after World War 1. The Blackhills Quarry, which we pass as we leave Cove Bay, is still in operation and is currently requesting an extension to its borders. It’s unclear where the quarry was in the 1700s.

We follow the coastal path for a further 5.2 kilometres past Findon Quarry and the village of Findon itself, to reach Portlethen Village also known as Old Portlethen. Since its settlement, the village depended on the sea for its livelihood. The more modern area of Portlethen, which lies further inland, has official town status although it is more a suburb of Aberdeen today. The modern part of town is built on Portlethen Moss, an acidic bog, which is now much smaller than it was centuries ago when the Causey Mounth was put into use. A small area has been conserved at the Portlethen Moss Nature Reserve on the southwest edge of the town.