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Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Aberdeenshire is a Highland county: a county of wild mountains and wild seas. The county is traditionally divided into five districts: Buchan, Formartine, Garioch, Mar and Strathbogie.
Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 57.233887,-2.524399
Grid Reference: NJ684160
Country: Scotland
Explore Aberdeenshire on WikishireIn the far north-east of the shire, north of the Ythan, lies the traditional area of Buchan. Its coastline rounds the “Cold Shoulder” of the Highlands and on this northern coast are the fishing towns of Fraserburgh, the biggest shellfish port in Scotland, and Peterhead, known as The Blue Toun. Six miles south of Peterhead, are the Bullers of Buchan – a basin in which the sea, entering by a natural arch, boils up violently in stormy weather. The county’s coast then stretches round to face the open North Sea. The "nine castles of the Knuckle" are a group of ancient castles around the Buchan coast, the "north-eastern knuckle of Scotland". From west to east, the castles are Dundarg, Pitsligo, Pitullie, Kinnaird, Wine Tower, Cairnbulg, Inverallochy, Lonmay and Rattray. The town of Turriff lies inland on the River Deveron, close to the border with Banffshire. Fyvie Castle (NTS) near Turriff dates back to the 13th century. Its impressive Seton tower, which forms the entrance, was erected in 1599 by Alexander Seton.
Bullers of Buchan
South of the Ythan is the traditional district of Formartine. It has a sandy coast, which is succeeded inland by a clayey, fertile, tilled tract, and then by low hills, moors, mosses and tilled land. Ellon, on the Ythan, includes the ruins of the 16th century Ellon Castle. The Auld Brig is a category A listed bridge across the Ythan, built in 1793. A castle has stood on the site of nearby Delgatie Castle since 1030 although the earliest parts of the castle standing today date from the 16th century. Haddo House (NTS) is a stately home near Tarves. The Gordons, later the Earls of Aberdeen and Marquesses of Aberdeen, have lived on the site for over 500 years. Pitmedden Garden (NTS) is an historic garden noted for its geoemtric parterres which vary in shape from a thistle to Sir Alexander Seton's coat of arms.
Haddo House
The Garioch is the traditional area at the centre of the shire. The rural parts are centred on the market town of Inverurie whose foundation dates back to the 9th century with the establishment of Christianity at Polnar, "The Kirk of Rocharl" - now St Andrew's Parish Church. South lies the county town, Aberdeen and the River Dee, the lower reaches of which form its southern border with Kincardineshire.
The City of Aberdeen is the landward heart of the North Sea oil business, which has made Aberdeen one of Britain’s wealthiest towns and also a centre of engineering excellence. Aberdeen is home to one of the four ancient universities of Scotland.
Christ's College, University of Aberdeen
The shire reaches far inland along the valley of the Don and up the Dee deep into the Grampian Mountains to the heart of the Cairngorms. These inland parts in the west of the county are the traditional area of Mar. Here is mountain and forest, cut with fertile valleys. The Mar Lodge Estate (NTS) covers over 70,000 acres of the Cairngorms and is regarded as one of the most important nature conservation landscapes in the British Isles. Mar is famed for its castles. Craigievar Castle (NTS) is a great seven-storey castle, completed in 1626, set among the scenic rolling foothills of the Grampian Mountains. Nearby Castle Fraser (NTS) is an elaborate Z-plan castle, completed at a similar time. Drum Castle (NTS) near Drumoak was granted to William de Irwyn in 1325 by Robert the Bruce, and remained in the possession of Clan Irvine until 1975. This part of Aberdeenshire contains several Munros (mountains over 3,000 feet), of which the highest is Ben Macdhui (second only to Ben Nevis in the whole of the British Isles), standing at 4,296 feet on the Banffshire border.
Castle Fraser library
The traditional area of Strathbogie extends over 120 square miles in the north of the county, stretching east and west of the Bogie, which discharges itself into the Deveron at Huntly. Huntly Castle is a beautiful castle, overlooking The Gordon Schools. Leith Hall (NTS) is a country house in Kennethmont, constructed in 1650 on the site of the mediæval Peill Castle.
Huntly Castle