ABERDEEN TO BRAEMAR. 335 the most part of tracts nearly level, but often bleak, naked, and unfertile, though interspersed with many rich spots in a high state of cultivation. The principal river is the Dee, distinguished by its rapidity, its broad channel, and the clearness of its waters. Its salmon-fisheries are very valuable. It is to the Dee Lord Byron alludes in his poem "When I roved a young Highlander." "I arose with the dawn; with my dog as my guide, I breasted the billows of Dee's rushing tide, And heard at the distance the Highlander's song." The next river of note is the Don, which rises on Ben Avon, on the confines of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. It is much less rapid, and flows, for a considerable part of its course, through rich valleys. The Ythan and Ugie within the county, and the Deveron and Bogie on its boundaries, are also considerable streams. About a tenth part of the whole surface of the county is under natural wood; chiefly of Scotch fir and birch. The mountain forests abound in red deer; and grouse, partridges, and other kinds of game are plentiful. ABERDEEN TO ABOYNE AND BRAEMAR. By Railway as far as Aboyne, and Coach thereafter. Passing up Deeside is the pretty mansion-house of Banchory (Alexander Thomson, Esq.), surrounded by fine old trees, and a little beyond it [6 miles*] the Roman Catholic College of Blairs, endowed by Menzies of Pitfodels, is seen on the left. The College contains a very valuable library and remarkable portraits of Queen Mary and Cardinal Beaton.† In its vicinity the churches of Mary Culter and Peter Culter front each other the former on the south, the latter on the north side of the river. A little further on, the line is carried across the burn of Culter, its banks steep and wooded, being the first specimen of picturesquely broken ground which the tourist passes. On the lands of Old Culter, and near the line [9 m.] are the very slender remains of a Roman camp, called Norman Dikes (supposed to be a corruption of Roman Dikes, * The number of miles noted in brackets are reckoned from Aberdeen. † See Memorials of Angus and the Mearns. a minute account of which is given in Chalmers' Caledonia), and supposed by some to be the site of the Roman town and station of Devana.* In a wooded elevation to the north-east of Norman Dikes there is an oblong space, enclosed by a rampart, which, from its irregular construction, appears to be of British origin. It is called Kemp (viz. Camp) Hill.† Drum House or Castle (Alex. Irvine, Esq.) [10 m.], is situated upon rising ground among scattered forest trees. The most remarkable part of the building is the old keep or donjon, a massive square tower, with rounded corners. The walls are twelve feet thick, and thus, though the outside circumference is considerable, the interior merely consists of a small gloomy vaulted chamber in each floor. The family of Drum is of considerable antiquity and fame in local history. It is the subject of a multitude of traditions, the more striking of which concern the battle of Harlaw, and a deadly feud with the Keith family. The House of Durris (Alex. W. Mactier, Esq.) is on the south bank of the river, eleven miles from Aberdeen, and a little farther on is the Kirk of Durris (pronounced Dores). On the north side of the Dee, is Park House (A. Kinloch, Esq.), and near to the railway station, a bridge has been recently erected. Crathes Castle (Sir Jas. Horne Burnett of Leys, Bart.) [15 m.] looks forth on the right from a sloping mass of thick woodland, and is one of those old Flemish buildings, which * The remains can scarcely be said to exist now, as in the course of agricultural improvements they have been nearly levelled by the plough, and a very tolerable crop of wheat may be seen waving on their site. The old well, said to have been connected with the camp, is still used by the neighbouring cottagers. It is half built in by a dry stone wall. Apropos to this subject, it may be mentioned that the antiquary will find, a few miles to the north-west, in the vicinity of Skene, one of the most remarkable fortified remains in existence. It consists of five concentric ramparts of stone, enclosing the summit of a steep conical hill, which, in reference to these works, is called the Barmekyne (viz. Barbican) of Echt. The outside ring is nearly a mile in circumference, and the inmost incloses about an acre of level land. After toiling up the steep ascent which leads to it, one is astonished by the traces of the mechanical skill, energy, and patience, which must have been combined in the construction of works so gigantic on such a spot. The whole of this neighbourhood bears traces of ancient and long-forgotten conflict. There are many minor fortifications and camps, and the peasantry frequently turn up flint spear and arrow heads of exquisite proportion and finish, remnants of an ancient and partial civilization, that must have passed away long before the commencement of Scottish history. rises as it were from solid root and stem into a cluster of varied picturesque turrets, chimneys, and peaked gables. There are some modern additions out of keeping. Here, as at Drum, there is abundant traditionary lore, both in prose and song. We now reach [18 m.] the village of Banchory Ternan, or UPPER BANCHORY. [Inns: The Burnett Arms; Douglas Arms.] A new Gothic church, in good taste, terminates the steep bank of the river, along which the straggling village is built. The Dee is here joined by the Feugh,* an angry moss-stained stream, which comes thundering down from the mountains. Looking up in the direction whence this stream runs, the traveller will see the broken outline of the hills from which its waters are supplied, and towering above the others is the characteristic summit of Clach-na-ben, with a great stone like a gigantic wart projecting from its brow. Four miles north from Banchory is the Hill of Fare, wide and flat, and not very elevated, presenting little attraction to the searcher after the romantic. A hollow on the south side, however, is not unfrequently visited, from its being the battlefield of Corrichie, where Moray and Huntly fought in 1562, under the eye of Queen Mary. A small fountain near the spot is called Queen Mary's well. In a densely wooded recess, at a considerable distance on the northern declivity of this hill, rises an oriental-looking cluster of turrets, forming the mansion or castle of Midmar. Little more than a mile beyond Banchory, on the south bank (left hand), is the * If the course of the Feugh be followed upwards, the traveller will find, after passing the picturesque villas of "Feugh Cottage" and "Inverey House," the water subsiding into a gentle stream, abounding in trout, and occasionally salmon. Four miles westward are the church and village of Strachan, and beyond Strachan the valley expands into a wide and well cultivated districtthe Feugh here receiving the water of Aaen as a tributary stream, also noted for its fishing. At the western extremity of this valley, finely situated and commanding an extensive prospect of it and of the Grampians, is the ancient mansion of Farquharson of Finzean, a family who have held the property for several centuries. The house and extensive woodlands adjoining have been greatly improved by the present proprietor (Francis Farquharson, Esq.) Ꮓ |