Philorth Woods

Thick hoar frost whitening the grass at the edge of Flagpole Plantation

Large areas of the wood are now carpeted in snowdrops and already smell slightly of garlic.

Snowdrops showing through the leaf litter under a chestnut tree. The wood was loud with the cawing of rooks and the drumming of woodpeckers, the first we have heard this year.

A roe deer in Coulter Fold anxiously trying to join its companion in Kirkton Wood

Rosehearty Air Raid: 29.01.1942

During the Second World War there were four enemy air raids on Rosehearty. The most serious of these took place at around 6.30 p.m. on 29^th January 1942, 70 years ago today, when an enemy aircraft dropped 5 high explosive bombs over the town. Two bombs damaged the harbour wall and two small boats. Three bombs landed in the town: numbers 25 and 27 Pitsligo Street were completely demolished by a direct hit and several other houses sustained lesser damage as did the telephone and lighting systems. During the raid there were eleven fatalities, four women and seven children, including an evacuee from Glasgow.

The damaged buildings, the morning after the raid.

 The fatalities included 14 year old Dorothy Duncan who was killed by the blast from the bomb and whose gravestone at Peathill, by the dyke between the kirkyard and the road, demonstrates the great losses sustained by families during the war.

The names of those killed in the raid, along with names of those who died in other wartime incidents and in the armed services, are recorded on the War Memorial on the Cairnhill, overlooking Rosehearty.

An account of the air raid, as recorded in the official Civil Defence log may be read at the following link.
http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/education_learning/local_history/archives/loc_onlineexhibitioncivildefencerosehearty.asp





Snowdrops at St Ethernan's

Grey Granite and rufus went to Rathen in expectation of finding snowdrops. We chose a cold frosty morning when the grass in the kirkyard was greyish with hoar frost and there was ice on the puddles in the lane over Gallows Hill.



The morning sunshine was just starting to melt the frost in the kirkyard when we embarked on our snowdrop hunt. We found small clusters of snowdrops under the ivy clad trees in the NE corner. The Victorians often planted snowdrops, a symbol of purity on graves. It seemed appropriate that we found them growing in the furthest, most forgotten corner of the kirkyard which always feels redolent of a more peaceful era.



Ivy, along with the snowdrops, provides food for insects tempted out by winter sunshine.

The snowdrops were growing in bare patches of earth and had been besmirched  by mud spatters during yesterday evening's heavy rain.

The Saltoun Fountain

Grey Granite admits that she underrates Fraserburgh, there are interesting pieces of architecture which are often overlooked. Of particular note are some of the fine examples of Victorian and Edwardian ironwork serving as signals of affluence the more prosperous areas of the town.
Foremost of these is the Saltoun Fountain.

The Saltoun Fountain was erected in 1904 and originally stood on the current site of the War Memorial at the junction of Strichen Road and Saltoun Place. When it was first erected the fountain was the centrepiece of the newly created playing fields which occupied the site of former gutting sheds and bothies. The fountain was one of the prefabricated iron fountains produced by Walter MacFarlane and Co., Saracen Foundry, Glasgow. In 1923 the fountain was replaced by the War Memorial and moved to its current site by the 'Grandad Swings' in Saltoun Place. The Grandad swings are reputedly so named because there used to be a small hut, inhabited by an elderly attendant, known as Grandad, in the corner of the gardens where they are situated.

The key  bearing ostrich on top of the ornate dome of the fountain.

Snowdrops

The first snowdrops of the year in the wood at Braco Park

Rathen to Memsie;a circuit with 6 bridges

Grey Granite noticed a track marked 'footpath' opposite Fordafourie on the Muir Road between Memsie and Rathen, at the time the track looked very muddy so we decided to save exploration for a frosty day. This morning was crisp, cold, windless and bright, the perfect morning for walk. The track leads across open fields from the Muir Road to Mill Farm, Rathen. At the farm there is a steep descent down to the  Aucheries Burn which is crossed at the Brig o' Craigengorie. This was the first of six bridges on our walk which took us over the Gairn Burn, Aucheries Burn, the Water of Philorth and their minor tributaries. We followed a tarred lane, edged with iced over runnels and fringed with vegetation dusted in white frost. Much of the walk was over low lying countryside, it is remarkable how many more hedges and bushes there are here than just a few miles away on the more exposed land nearer the coast.

The picturesque Brig o' Craigengorie.

The bridge has a deep arch, Grey Granite was surprised that it does not seem to be a 'listed building'.

The bridge is situated in a hollow below St Oyne's Hill, the minor road to Aucheries, which we walked along has steep banks and climbs the side of the hill. There are hedges of hawthorn, the occasional ash tree, gorse and broom bushes. The gorse was, of course, in flower and we even noticed a few flowers on the broom. Flocks of small birds, mainly chaffinches were flitting about the bushes.

Rathen Church seen from the Brig o' Craigengorie

Our walk took us past the entrance to the House of  Aucheries  which, unfortunately is hidden by trees. Aucheries, then the home of John Master of Pitsligo, was a favourite place of refuge for Lord Pitsligo during the years after Culloden. Lord Pitsligo died there on 21st December 1762, aged 85. Lord Pitsligo spent the years after Culloden as a fugitive hiding in various locations throughout the area, often disguised as 'Sandy Brown', a beggar. His tennants showed great loyalty to him, risking their own lives and resisting the reward of £4,000 so that he was able to evade capture.

House of Memsie, seen from the entrance to the House of Aucheries

The House of Memsie dates from 1760, there are pavillions at each side, that on the west is a laundry, on the east are stables and a coach house. The central bay has a curvilinear-gabled chimney which reminded Grey Granite of the canal side buildings seen in Amsterdam.



Memsie Round Cairn

The gigantic Memsie Round Cairn dates from about 1700 BC and is the largest, but least distinguished looking, of the prehistoric features of Buchan. But for the Historic Scotland notice board informing the reader that there were once 3 cairns in the area it could easily be mistaken for the spoils of field clearance.

This pleasant circuit took us from Rathen to Memsie along quiet, sheltered  lanes, but since the last mile is along the relatively busy Muir Road, is probably best reserved for Sundays.

Lesser Celandine -already

This morning our, otherwise fairly dull, January walk was brightened by this Lesser celandine (Ranuculus ficaria) waiting for just a little more sunshine to coax it open. This seems extraordinary early even though it was growing on a sun catching bank along the Fraserburgh by pass. There are already  silky  willow catkins showing in several localities and Dr. Anne reported a primrose in bud at Sunnyside on January 2nd.

Drinnie's Wood: The Observatory and Ascot of the North

Continuing strong winds drove us inland to the relative shelter of Drinnie's Wood for our morning walk today. The wood, managed by the Forestry Commission, was part of the Pitfour estate and contains 'The Observatory'.  This  extraordinary folly was constructed by Admiral Ferguson in 1845  ostensibly to enable him to watch the progress of horses on the private racecourse he set out round his estate.

The octagonal Observatory is 50 feet high and stands on a hill 396 feet above sea level, making it a prominent landmark. The top section of the tower is constructed of granite but the lower part is of brick with stone dressings and was only relatively recently painted white. Originally there was an internal  wooden stairway with treads projecting from the wall but during restoration this was replaced with spiral metal stair cases. There is a fireplace in the main gallery and the eight windows give superb views over the surrounding countryside. The Admiral's racecourse, 16m wide and as level as possible, began near Cairnorchies before running for about 3.5km through White Cow Wood, Auchrynie, Cabra and Gaval. The observatory would not have given a particularly good view of the track but the admiral claimed to have built it in order reduce the distance he had to walk from his house to watch the racing horses.



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We set off from the car park at Den of Howe and were glad of the relative shelter from the wind and occasional hail showers provided by the trees. The wood consists primarily of conifers but there are mixed plantings, including beeches, the paths are wide have a good surface and are relatively well drained. We saw a fleeting glimpse of roe deer crossing the tracks. Unfortunately the sign post to the Louden Wood stone circle has vanished  and the track to it is very overgrown. The route through Drinnie's Wood brought us to the Strichen to New Deer Road at Auchmachar, needless to say we were battered by a heavy hail shower on the open  road leading to Whitecow Wood and were surprised by the strength of the wind in the open. We followed what is probably a stretch of the race course from the edge of Whitecow to Cairnorchies thus returned to our starting point. At Den o' Howe we noted some rather bizarre and incongruous Christmas decorations, including a Santa and sleigh on  a shed roof and a grotesque life size manger scene. Fortunately, 12th Night rapidly approaches.

Yet another hail shower sweeping in above Bruxie Wood

Pittulie: Making winter hay whilst the sun shone.

Another beautiful, clear January morning 1.5c in Pittulie at 10 a.m,  finger nipping cold, there was a frost and icy patches on the road. The weather forecast for the next few days may only be described as dire so we decided to make the most of the morning. As we walked sky was almost cloudless resulting in an almost unbelievably blue sea, when a small whiteness of swans trumpeted their way across the sky the sun caught their wings. We walked up the Smiddy Brae from Pittulie, turning right to pass Craigmire and Craigiebanks before walking down the road to Broomhills to return along the shore road.

Broomhills Cottages quite unremarkable except in that they are so quintessentially typical of rows of North East cottar houses and always remind Grey Granite of the setting for Jessie Kesson's novel, 'Another Time, Another Place'.

Pittulie Castle with Rosehearty beyond, the sunlight seems to foreshorten the distance from the castle to the houses. Landmarks in the background are on the left the white bulk of the new school, and the white R.A.F Tower to the left of the castle.

New Year's Day

A tranquil start to the year at the Broch beach

Rufus enjoys a New Year's Day dip in the Kessock Burn