Lonmay to Mains of Park

Grey Granite is currently exploring circular walks involving sections of the Line and began walking at Lonmay, heading towards Mormond Halt. The line was very wet just beyond the Northpark bridge so we left the solum there and walked along the road towards Mains of Park

 Both sides of the shallow cutting between Smithyhillock and Northpark are densely covered in rosebay willow herb and in places bright bushes of wild fuchsias and tangles of brambles.

Boarded up and abandoned: Mains of Park Farmhouse, the large walled garden beyond the house and the extensive, empty yards close are now a desolate mass of weeds.

 In the mid 1800s, prior to the arrival of the railway,  the Park district was dominated by the premises of Messrs Willox, carriers. This company seems to have been of great importance to the local economy.

'The Howes o'Buchan' describes the company thus:

 A little to the right of Lonmay Station lies the estate of Park, the principle buildings on which are the premises of Messrs Willox, who carry on a very large trade as carriers and wholesale merchants. Large as is the trade of the Messrs Willox at the present time, (1865) it is a mere shadow to what it was thirty or forty years ago, when they had almost a monopoly of the carrying trade in Buchan. The central depot for the purchase or barter of goods, the only firm in Buchan which at that time possessed regular and established communication with London, 'Willox o' Park' was a name which stood to the people of those days in the place of railway, steamer, commission agent, and sometimes banker!'

A, presumably, 'set a side' field opposite Mains of park. Every so often in the field, which appeared to have   a rich crop of mayweed there were beautiful bushy blue plants.

On closer examination these plants proved to be Phacelia, a native of North America which is occasionally sown in U.K. fields as a green manure. A wide range of plant species was growing in the field, species in the photograph include, pineapple weed, red dead nettle, shepherds purse, mayweed, field pansy and redshank and there was extensive fumitory round the edges of the field. This diversity was a contrast to the willow herb dominated embankment on the Line.

The attractive flower is extremely attractive to bees.