Distance markers and an elegy for the Great North of Scotland Railway

Cast iron distance markers, usually mounted on lengths of old rail and originally painted white, were situated every quarter of a mile along the ‘down’ side of the track.(Left when heading towards Fraserburgh or Peterhead)  These were a requirement of The Railways Clauses Consolidation Act of 1845 which stipulated that:  

"The company shall cause the length of the railway to be measured, and milestones, posts, or other conspicuous objects to be set up and maintained along the whole line thereof, at the distance of one quarter of a mile from each other, with numbers or marks inscribed thereon denoting such distances." 

The distinctive markers were of a standard rectangular design showing the distance with the distance in whole miles from Aberdeen embossed on them in large figures, quarter miles were indicated by large raised dots.The markers were positioned so that the mileage could be read by travellers in  both directions. Initially passengers were charged by the mile for their journey so the markers enabled them to check that they had been charged the correct fare. The distinctive markers which remain are thought to date from the 1920s, unfortunately, they make highly desirable house number signs and many of them have been removed or damaged.

32 and a half
  miles from Aberdeen resting against a tree trunk near Brucklay Bridge

Thirty Three and three quarters

Better preserved than many and showing the white paint

Thirty six and a quarter miles, situated by  rowan tree between Mintlaw and Longside

Badly damaged forty five and three quarter miles between Philorth Halt and Fraserburgh Golf club

This lyrical passage is  an extract from a longer article by E.N.C. Haywood about distance markers by which appeared in the GRNSRA Review for May 1970:

The familiar shapes of the Great North mileposts have been there now for some fifty years; repainted at intervals, but otherwise uncared for. A few,situated on station platforms, have had the company of people; but the vast majority have spent a solitary existence, out in the lonely countryside, blistered by the summer sun, buried by the winter snow; rained on, whitened by the post, some bleached: by the salt

from the sea. All classes and conditions of mankind have passed by them, from royalty to Peterhead prisoners. Fish, granite, cattle and everything else have rumbled past, day by day, year after year. They have been darkened by the hot, sooty, sweetish breath from countless passing steam locomotives - f o r a long time their own homely Great North engines, and then a gradually increasing invasion of alien types. But eventually the end came even for the steam engine; and t o so many of the mileposts themselves the end has also come, foretold by the change in the rails beside them - once shining then brown with the final rust of all.

Now many miles of the old Great North are empty and dead, where once the rails gleamed and t h e drifting smoke proclaimed the trains. If the line were straight there would always be a milepost in sight; for the clear, distinctive GNS pattern was so easily seen that before the post you had passed had faded from view, the next one ahead was already visible - you could see them both at once. But now most of them have gone; the old track beds are just fading scars through the lonely fields , where the wind whispers amidst the new grass that has sprung up, and the shadows of the clouds pass silently over the emptiness; as silently, perhaps, as the ghosts of those who built, worked and travelled over these memorable lines.

Ugie Pearls:Inverugie, 3 castles and a station

Grey Granite recently read Ugie Pearls by Winnie Carnegie. This gem of a book describes, in charming essays originally published in the Buchan Observer, life in the hamlet of Inverugie between the wars when 'Inverugie was a very desirable hamlet'. Although much changed Inverugie remains an attractive mile long ribbon of dwellings stretching down towards the old station from the ruined castle. It is still easy to see why, in less ambitious days Inverugie with its tennis courts and charming woodlands, was such  a mecca for the 'Toonsers' from Peterhead. Visitors cycled out or took the train to enjoy days out in the village where Winnie's enterprising Mum provided refreshment and there were wild flowers, snowdrops, primroses and  wild honeysuckle in  St Johns Wood where, on local holidays,   stalls sold such delights as lucky tatties and ice cream.

We enjoyed a pleasant circular walk starting from Inverugie Bridge with minor digressions up Castle Brae to visit the ruins of Inverugie Castle and west wards along the Line to see the folly in the garden of Katteburn Cottage before returning to the station and continuing along the Line past St Johns Wood to Westerton of Barnyards Bridge were we climbed up the embankment to return to Inverugie via Ravenscraig.

The bridge over the Ugie was built in 1862 when it replaced stepping stones. When the river was in spate  as it is in the photograph, the stepping stones were often submerged, cutting one end of the hamlet off from the other and preventing more fortunate children getting to school.

Inverugie Station, now sadly overgrown and easily overlooked from  the Line since there is a high stone wall along the remaining platform. Things were very different in Winnie Carnegie's day when ...

'Mr Gauld was Station Master, the pride he and his clerks took in the gardens. They even cultivated a bit of the grassy bank across the line and won many an award for having the best kept station. There were beds of antirrhinums, asters, marigolds, while pink and red rambler roses covered the wooden fence, almost obscuring the well known and well read 'commercials' -'Lipton's Tea', 'Tyler's Boots are Best' and one which I never quite understood 'Monkey Brand won't wash your Clothes'. It was  a joy to sit on the platform seats among the flowers ...until the train disappeared under the bridge in a cloud of smoke.

As you entered the station, the ticket hatch was immediately lifted up and a friendly clerk would issue  a ticket. There was always a blazing fire in the station master's office and a bell would jingle from time to time to signal that all was well. The Buchan Express was puffing contentedly on its way. There was  a chocolate machine, a very poor bargain really, for it cost a whole penny for a small square of Reeves chocolate. A weighing machine stood in the General waiting Room and big picture advertisements hung on the wall for far away places, such as Edinburgh or Glasgow.'

Bridge carrying the road over the Line east of the station. Winnie describes sitting on the platform watching the departing train disappearing under this bridge.

This tower in the garden of Katteburn appears to be a folly

Katteburn is described as follows in The Howes of Buchan
'Lying in the hollow, on the right of the line, (approaching Inverugie from Peterhead) Katburn Cottage, with its beautiful, tasteful, and neatly laid off garden, will claim the attention of all passers by. The cottage is occupied by William Mitchell, Esq., shipowner, Peterhead  as a summer residence. Lying as it does in the hollow sheltered by trees, and surrounded by many objects of natural beauty, it forms in itself quite a little paradise'

The tall chimney of Peterhead Power Station, situated to the south of Peterhead at Boddam, seen on the horizon on the approach to the A90 crossing. The power station became operational in 1980 and is described by Charles McKean as 'Power with cleanliness realised in architecture massing of simple blocks focused on  a tall chimney stack lends coherence and geometry to the messy complications of electricity generation'. The power station is currently owned by Scottish and Southern Energy plc, employs about 160 workers and has the capacity to produce electricity from either oil or gas depending on which is the most economically viable. The Peterhead C.C.S project is planned to capture up to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions which will piped out for storage under the North Sea.

West of Inverugie Station the Line runs along an embankment with the trees of St Johns Wood on the right.

Gorse in flower along the Line

The bulk of Ravenscraig Castle hidden in trees on the banks of Ugie.

Also known as the Craig of Ugie', Ravenscraig Castle is built on 'a precipitous rock,washed on the north side by the River Ugie' (McLeod, The Castles of Buchan) and was protected on three sides by a moat. The bulky remains of the massive four storey L plan tower appear shrouded by trees . The vaulted ground floor remains but over the centuries the tower has been badly denuded of decorative features. The present castle is thought to date from about 1491 although an earlier castle possibly on the same site,  is said to have been visited by Robert the Bruce  in 1308. The castle was the seat of the barony of Torthorston, originally a Cheynes stronghold but which passed to the Keiths, Earl  Marischals  in the mid 14th century.  Ravenscraig was visited by James V1 in 1598 when he was a guest at the marriage of the Laird's daughter.  

Castlehill of Inverugie seen from Ravenscraig

Castlehill Inverugie, was the site of the earthwork castle built by the Cheynes in the 13th century. The conspicuous motte, now about 3 metres high was accompanied on the west by a bailey, traces of which are revealed in aerial photographs on the Canmore website. The hill is sometimes referred to as Hangman's Hill of Inverugie. The stone wall in the right foreground forms part of a ruined corn mill. The 1872 OS map indicates that the mill was fed by  a laid running parallel to the Ugie from the direction of  Ravenscraig Castle.

The Ugie from Inverugie Castle, Ravenscraig is in the trees on the left. The remains of the Pitfour Canal run  parallel to the bank of the Ugie opposite the castle.

Inverugie Castle
The palatial castle was built by the Cheynes but the estate passed to the  the Keiths, Earl Marischals of Scotland. The Keiths forfeited their lands  following the Jacobite rising of 1715 when George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal supported the Jacobite cause. It was on his order that on 23rd September 1715 the Old Pretender, James V111 was proclaimed King at the Old Market Cross in Peterhead.  The castle was neglected after forfeiture  and was ruinous by 1790 when James Ferguson of Pitfour added floors and a roof to the remains of the castle intending to use it as an observatory, these alterations were removed by his successor.

The ruins suffered considerable  damage during gales in 1890 and on New Year's Day 1899 so that, in the interests of safety, it had to be partially demolished by being blown up. The castle is now fenced off and is inaccessible to the public. It was here. in the formal gardens, that William Burnes, father of Robert Burns trained as a gardener before moving to Ayrshire.The castle had one of the first ice houses in Scotland. At one point  a brewery was operated in part of the ruins.

Strichen House

The low winter sun catching the shell of Strichen House gives a good impression of the scale of the building.This picture was taken from the Line looking across what would have been part of the golf course in the Strichen Hydro Days .

A leafless hawthorn close to the Line, the ripe haws glowing in the sunlight.

Mintlaw Station to Pitfour: autumn colours

The short section of Line running west between Mintlaw Station and the crossing with the A950 runs close to the main road for most of its length. A short distance before the crossing  a disused bridge over the Line a footpath leading to the Pitfour Estate is signposted, the remnants  of this once vast estate  are well worth exploring, not least for the waterfowl on the lake. when we visited there were constant arrivals and departures of trumpeting swans.. 

Former Station Hotel, Mintlaw

Now sadly closed, this hotel has had several reincarnations,  in 1862 it was the Buchan Railway Hotel, named for its proximity to the station, later becoming  the Station Hotel, it was renamed in the late 20th century to become the Country Park Hotel, for its proximity to Aden Country Park. Mintlaw Station was originally a temporary terminus on the Buchan and Formartine Railway Company's line to Peterhead from Dyce. When it opened the station was temporarily known as Old Deer and Mintlaw, reflecting its position on the Fraserburgh turnpike,midway between the two communities.The station was convenient for the estates of Aden and Pitfour but less so for the two villages. The station was renamed Mintlaw in 1867 by which time it had  a large goods yard and the line had been extended to Peterhead. The community which grew up by the station became known as Mintlaw Station and included the premises of JC Rennie and Co, Woolen manufacturers who made wool brought in by the producers into a range of goods including blankets, clothing, flannels and bedclothes.

Cairn on the trackbed  at the west end of Mintlaw Station commemorating the signing of the agreement between Grampian Regional Council and Buchan Countryside Group which facilitated the creation of the Formartine Buchan Way by David Bellamy in 1987.

The Line under the Fetterangus road bridge has  a really autumnal look at present. The bright, bushy tree on the right is  a beech. The ash and sycamores and occasional birch which predominate have almost entirely shed their leaves.

The signpost by the now defunct bridge which, before realignment carried the A950  over the Line, directs the walker to Pitfour

Sunlight on  a venerable and colourful beech growing just inside the wood which borders the southern edge of the estate. Pitfour was  at one point the most extensive agricultural estate in Scotland, extending over 50 square miles. Many of the trees, notably oaks and sycamores, in the policies have enormous trunks and are obviously of  a great age, probably dating from the landscaping carried out by James Ferguson, the 3rd laird (1736-1820). Of the five Ferguson lairds of Pitfour the first 3, although ambitious carried out prudent improvements to the estate which earned it the title, 'the Blenheim of the North, but  the last two lairds were extravagant and ostentatious beyond their means leading to the decline and fragmentation of the once great estate.

Reflections: there is currently extensive tree felling taking place as can be seen beyond the line of trees on the far bank

This picturesque 'ruin' on the bank of the artificial lake was actually a boathouse.

The three elegant spans of the North Bridge reflected in  the lake.
The artificial lake was dug in the early 19th century and covers an area of nearly 50 acres, three bridges of which the north bridge is by far the grandest, carried the driveway to the house over the lake. The square Grecian design in the panels on the bridge also occur on the stables and the 'Temple of Theseus' which overlooks the lake.

Pitfour Stables,  a listed building very obviously 'at risk'

As one walks north through the estate along the main path, once the main drive, beyond the lake towards Fetterangus, the vast bulk of the derelict U shaped stable block suddenly looms through the trees, 'Straddling the skyline like  a palace'. This was built by Admiral Ferguson, he of the race course,on the site of the home farm. The imposing two storey building, built in a similar style to the house had stabling for ten horses, four loose boxes, two coach houses and a harness room. On the first floor, above the stables there were six  servant's bedrooms, there was also a coachman's house. 

'Is there honey still for tea?'

Though still imposing  the stables are now horribly dilapidated but once must have been magnificent. The central carriage arch was surmounted by a  wooden clock tower, the clock is still in place but the top portion and copper cupola which capped the tower and contained a bell have been removed and lie amidst rubble in the yard. Pitfour House, the last of 3 mansions of that name, each larger than its predecessor,  was situated in front of the stables was demolished around 1926 when the estate was broken up to pay death duties. The stone from the mansion was used to build Aberdeen council houses.

Pitfour Chapel

Recent tree felling means that, like the stables, the chapel suddenly appears on the skyline as one walks north through the estate. The chapel, now a private house, was built in 1851 by George Ferguson, 5th Laird who was embroiled in a quarrel with the  Episcopal congregation over the repair or replacement of their existing chapel at Waulkmill. The congregation at this time built St Drostan's in Old Deer on land made available  to them by Mr Russell of Aden. In a fit of pique Ferguson built a private chapel on a hillock to the west of the house. The chapel was almost the same size as St Drostan's and had a bold, battlemented  tower about 20 metres high.Twenty years after it was built the chapel required extensive renovation but remained ill ventilated and damp and fell out of use around 1876: an expensive face saving folly. It is said that on Sundays the estate workers and staff processed to the chapel followed by the Ferguson family, the choir dressed in surplices and then the priest.

Taitswell, the Pitfour factors house near the East Lodge, seen from the Line close to the footpath leading to Pitfour. Most notable of the factors to live at Taitswell was James Mitchel who served the estate in a variety of capacities for forty-eight years from 1790 until his death in 1838. Mitchel served the Ferguson's loyally and with great integrity  he was popular and rspected not only on the estate but also in the local community with which he was actively involved. When he died he left  a considerable estate a substantial part of which was set aside to establish and finance girls' schools locally in Fetterangus, Rora, Mintlaw and Maud and in his home town of Banff. The remainder of his estate was an endowment,still in existence, known as the Mitchel Bequest  for the benefit of old men and widows on the Pitfour Estate. He is commemorated by the street named after him in Mintlaw: James Mitchel Place.

Railway ballast from the Haughs of Rora

Bridge at over the Line at Strawberry bank. The trees in the distance are on the banks of the Ugie where a viaduct carries the Line across the river.

In 1861, when the line from Peterhead to Mintlaw was under construction, GNSR bought 6 acres of land on what is now Strawberry Bank but was then, more prosaically, Brick Croft, part of the Pitfour Estate. The land was used to extract sand and gravel to provide ballast for the railway.    Land in the vicinity has since yielded thousands of tons of sand gravel and aggregate. Extraction still continues and has been used for a wide range of projects ranging from the construction of the foundations of Peterhead Power Station, and St Fergus Gas terminal to footpaths in the gardens of Balmoral and Birkhall. Following extraction each area has been returned to agricultural use although the topography has considerably altered by the process. 

The Ugie from the viaduct, sand extraction continuing in the haugh.

Longside and the Haughs of Rora

Auchlee Bridge

The station was about quarter of a mile to the north of Longside village towards Bridgend, the road to it now bisects Longside Golf Course and crosses the Ugie by Auchlee Bridge.

The granite steps leading to the road from the path on the Mintlaw side of the F&B Way at Bridge of Auchlee show the marks of quarrying. A new bungalow, Station House, blocks the route of the railway line here and it is necessary to leave the Line and rejoin it close to the station on the opposite side of  Station Road.

There are now well tended allotments in what was once the station yard, note the traditional scarecrow between the poly tunnel and the sheds. The rowan tree in the foreground has been stripped of leaves by the recent gales but retains many berries. Like the berry laden white beams and hawthorns along the Line this tree attracted many small birds, notably assorted finches and siskins.

Longside Station, very desirable houses have been built along the platform, continuing an earlier tradition of exclusivity in this part of Longside.

Station Terrace, Longside

Despite the rather prosaic name, Station Terrace was generally considered to be the most upmarket area of Longside. The superior houses were built shortly after the arrival of the railway in 1862, they were close to the station convenient for their wealthy occupants such as the solicitors who used the train for their  daily commute to Aberdeen or Peterhead. 

The roof of Longside Parish Church beyond the golf course. 
Longside is a relatively young course, having opened as recently as 1979 and being extended to 18 holes in 1996. 

In 1916 a state owned railway line was constructed  across land which is now the golf course to connect Longside station to the Admiralty owned station at Lenabo  Airship Station.  When Line was built the then Laird of Cairngall,  Major Hutchison, was paid £2,500 in compensation for the loss of the land taken up by the Line to Lenabo. The line was abandoned in 1920 after the closure of Lenabo and dismantled in 1923.

The inordinately tall crow stepped tower of St John's Episcopal Church, Longside standing above the trees of Cairngall.

The Episcopal Church was built in 1853 on the outskirts of the village. There is a strong tradition of Episcopacy in the village and this is at least the third Episcopal church in the area. An earlier  Episcopal Church was burnt down by Hanoverian troops in following the Penal Act of 1746. A stricter Act of  1748 prevented Episcoplian priests preaching to any one other than  members of their own family. Reverend John Skinner who was Episcopal minister at Longside for an astonishing 64 years  spent 6 months in  in prison for his refusal to abandon Episcopacy and for attempting to circumnavigate  the act by preaching from the window of his house at Linshart. Rev Skinner was the author of Tullochgorum and is buried in the graveyard at Longside Parish Church. for further details of the Parish Church and Rev john skinner see

http://greygraniteblogspot.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/longside-kirkyard.html

A hawthorn branch laden with ripe haws. In the distance, surrounded by trees is Cairngall House. This is part of the once huge Cairngall estate which was purchased by James Rollo Duncan of Tillycorthie 1931. The 1,000 acre estate included  granite quarries, which by then were largely disused, a blacksmith's shop, meal mill, crofts, and property in the village of Longside. The title of Cairngall deeds were in name of Duncan's wife Isabella whose father, the grieve at Cairngall Home Farm, had died as the result of falling through a hatch in the steading there in 1881. For more details of James Rollo Duncan's extraordinary rags to riches life see http://greygranitewalkingtheline.blogspot.co.uk/2013_08_01_archive.html

Cairngall quarries were in operation from about 1880 but had fallen out of use by the time Duncan bought the estate. They provided granite for the  foundations of the Bell Rock Lighthouse and London Bridge, pier walls for the Houses of Parliament, surrounds for Trafalgar Square fountain, the pedestal of the Duke of Wellington's statue at the  Royal Exchange in Glasgow. 8 pillars outside St George's Hall in Liverpool each consist of a polished 18 foot column of Cairngall granite. The granite from the quarry was said to be very beautiful and very hard.

Auchlee Farm, the field is already green with autumn sown grain.

The long viaduct which carries the Line over the North Ugie Water. The greyish blue field contains neeps, now an increasing rare sight. As we crossed the viaduct a beautiful silvery swan flew slowly over the Moss of Rora trumpeting  occasionally. There were constant skeins of geese flying over head as we walked and we disturbed a large, ungainly heron which had been fishing in the Ugie.

Looking over Rora Moss and the Haughs of Rora from the viaduct. The moss was used for peat extraction and the two branches of the Ugie, the North and South Ugie Waters, join in the haugh. It was this section of the river which, until about the end of the 19th century was traditionally fished for freshwater pearls. A kelpie was said to dwell in the Ugie in the haugh.

 Little Ugie said to Muckle Ugie

'Where shall we meet?'

'Doon in the Haughs of Rora

When man is asleep.'

Official Opening of the Formartine Buchan Way

It seems quite extraordinary that yesterday a pseudo celebration - the official opening of the Formartine Buchan Way - was held at Maud Station almost a year after the last section of the footpath, Maud to Brucklay, was completed. According to a report in today's Press and Journal, the Provost of Aberdeenshire, Jill Webster, visited the station yesterday to officially open the walkway. There appears to have been no obvious advance publicity of the event and at the station today no commemorative plaque was apparent. Such  a low key and tardy ceremony seems quite pointless and appears to beg the question of the Council's embarrassment and ambivalent position given their support for a feasibility study to consider reinstating the railway on the line.

 There was nothing to indicate that the Formartine Buchan Way is officially open beyond this attractive information  board, one of several placed strategically along the Line in recent months.

Maud Station today, the WW2 air raid shelter and beyond it  the Railway Museum which is housed in the station buildings on the island platform. 

GNSR glass at Knockando

An excellent talk, A Virtual Trip Along the Buchan Line', given in St Drostan's Church, Old Deer recently by the GNSRA archivist, Mike Cooper mentioned that the beautiful stained glass, which was a standard feature of waiting rooms on GNSR lines including the Buchan Line, can still be seen at Knockando Station on the Speyside Line. A recent rip to Nethy Bridge provided opportunity to visit Knockando.

The station is now owned by the nearby Tamdhu distillery and has been restored and renamed. The buildings are well preserved and display the beautiful glass.When we visited the sun was shinning through the building illuminating the window glass. The waiting room is now just an empty shell having been used as a community shop for a time. 

There are spectacular views of the Spey from the platform

 The jewel like colours of the textured glass are stunning when seen in bright sunlight

 They are reminiscent of  Charles Rennie Mackintosh and put modern station design to shame.

 The signal box, we liked the detail of the brickwork on the chimney and the entrance porch on stilts.