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.