Strichen Toll House

Strichen Toll House on the B9093, the old turnpike road, seen from the point where the entrance to the Aberdeenshire Council Depot crosses the Line.

Following the Turnpike Act of 1795,  local Turnpike Trusts, consisting of landowners and burghers whose estates exceeded £400 Scots,  were able to apply for an Act of Parliament empowering them to build roads, in some cases, by raising statute labour and to levy tolls to pay for their construction and maintenance.  

The Turnpike Act stipulated that the roads had to be built and maintained to a high standard, in Aberdeenshire  the average cost of turnpike roads was £350 per mile. The Trustees, usually the landowners through whose estates the road was to pass, borrowed capital to build the road then recovered  the cost by renting out the right to collect tolls. Toll houses  were built every six miles.  These were usually two roomed cottages, often with a rounded or semi-hexagonal gable end to allow the toll keeper to see travellers approaching from both directions. Outside the toll house a barrier with a counter balanced bar (the 'turnpike')blocked the road until the toll had been paid. Charges varied from locality to locality and with the type of traffic using the road, vehicles were charged according to the number of horses pulling them. 

 

The completion of  the railway in 1865 drastically reduced the amount of road traffic and sounded the death knell of toll keeping and in 1866 all toll bars were removed from Aberdeenshire roads.

None so blind as will not see

Cowslips  (Primula veris)

Grey Granite cannot comprehend those, and they are many, who say that they find the Line boring. The Line is never the same on two consecutive walks, the wild life: the birds, flowers and mammals are constantly changing and give special character to each section of Line and each season.

This morning there was an eddying grey mist but the gorse formed great yellow, coconut scented banks near Rathen Station. There were unexpected cowslips and intensely mauve violets in the granite hardcore at the edge of the Line. There are now many clumps of cuckoo flower in the ditches, where last week there was only an isolated patch, sweet Cicely and pink campion on the banks of the Water of Philorth, mallards in the river, buzzards over the woods, chaffinches and bluetits  in the gorse and  today no people to impose vacuous chatter.

Strichen viaduct to the B9093: The French Farm

Grey Granite walked along the Line from Strichen viaduct to the B9093 where she turned off to Howford Farm, 'The French Farm'. There is a pleasant walk along the bank of the Ugie back to Strichen from the farm. Alternatively one may cross the bridge below the farm and follow the old Peterhead to Banff coach road up to the Skillymarno Road, returning to Strichen via the kirkyard. MacFarlane writing in 1723 (Description of the Parish of Strichen) mentions that there was a bridge 'for those on foot only at Howfoord,  (sic) where there was also a ford'.The existing bridge was constructed in 1777. 



Cherry blossom at Strichen Station

The wet area of ground under the viaduct, close to the Ugie, has huge patches of exquisite wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa)

There is a large patch of snake's heads (Fritillaria meleagris) by the  large pond under the viaduct. These have almost certainly  been planted

There are currently many violets in flower along this section of Line

Howford, seen from the Line.

The rather imposing new house behind the trees on the left of the picture replaced  the original  early 19th century farmhouse, built  for Louis Servan, a French emigre.   This building, seen to the  right of the silage tower, is now a much decayed  ruin, used as a store but  still showing its former elegance.  Its rounded corners, arched windows, tiny pavilions and back courtyard are in complete contrast to  the traditional foursquare granite farmhouses of Buchan.

Little definite is known of Louis Servan, beyond that he died in 1834 , is buried in the old Strichen Parish Church kirkyard and married twice. His first wife, Mary Black died on 8th March 1814, Servan died,aged 80,  on 8th December 1834 at Howford and was survived by his second wife, Mary Keith.

Mrs C.J.  Thomson, in her memoir of Strichen in the 19th century,  'Around the White Horse' mentions an old Frenchman, Louis Survanne (sic) whose politics were of the Ancien Regime. Dr Gavin, Mrs Thomson's  father introduced Servan to a visiting Prussian who firstly   affected to be  a Republican and had a violent disagreement  with Servan. The Prussian then reappeared disguised as his own brother  and had another long political discussion this time  agreeing with Servan. This incident had a profoundly disturbing effect on Servan who had to be escorted home and died shortly afterwards. This suggests that Servan may have fled France during the Revolution  (1789-1799).  However, Jean Scott, niece of Lorna Moon (Nora Low) in a 1948 broadcast for the  BBC French Service, quotes, but gives little credence to, the legend  that Servan helped  the Laird of Strichen escape from a band of French soldiers, members of Napoleon's Army, against whom he was fighting in Spain. According to this particular version of events the laird, his henchman having been killed,  surrendered to the French in order to avoid capture then persuaded Servan to help him escape. As a reward for his help the Laird promised the impoverished Servan a house and land back in Strichen. On their safe return  laird built the 'French House' for Servan and according to the story it was in honour of his escape from Spain that the white horse on Mormond Hill was constructed. Coincidentally Jean Scott was a member of the French Resistance in World War 2.

Kirkton to Rathen Station, Spring flowers

This morning the temperature reached 16.5c, tempting out a couple of small tortoiseshell butterflies, a very hairy caterpillar and several bees. The section of Line between Fraserburgh and Rathen has been transformed by the recent warm weather. The occasional hawthorns and silver birches are starting to open their leaf buds, the slowest of the willows have catkins. Close to the pond at Craigiewan there are several blackthorn bushes 'wearing white for Eastertide'. The walkway  is brightened by sudden patches of celandines, marsh marigolds and clumps of daffodils and by the ditch feeding the Water of Philorth a small colony of cuckoo flower.

On the far side of the drainage ditch a small clump of Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) and on the near bank the myriad yellow stars of Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)

Daffodils on the embankment close to Fraserburgh Golf Club

Daisies (Bellis perennis) and the minute white stars of  Whitlow Grass (Erophila verna)
Whitlow grass grows profusely in the sandiest parts of the track.



The unexpected delicate flowers of Lady's Smock, (Cardamine pratensis) also known as Cuckoo Flower caught my eye growing amongst the young leaves of Comfrey by a ditch feeding the Water of Philorth