Victorian confidence and style and 21st century utilitarianism on the Links

The east end of the Fraserburgh Links, the engine shed which is all that remains of Fraserburgh railway station is just below the South Church, the edge of the Links was truncated and the ground levelled to allow for the building of the railway.

Victorian confidence and prosperity are expressed in the South Church with its elegant steeple, the splendidly baronial Dalrymple Hall and in the distance to the right the stubby point of the Old Parish Church steeple and the Town House rotunda. All in stark contrast with the modern Walking Way sculpture and alas, the rubbish bins on the Leisure Centre carpark

The railway is now celebrated by ‘The Walking Way’, prominent sculpture of steel girders and oak beams which attracts attention to a white concrete pathway on the seaward side of the Links .The shapes of the sculpture and pathway, which leads from the Leisure Centre car park to the crossing with South Harbour Road, were inspired by the railway which ran directly below the installation. This is the work of sculptural artist Jane Kelly and was put in place in the summer of 2007.

Vast crowds of excited people from Fraserburgh and the surrounding villages congregated on the Links on 22nd April 1865 when the first train steamed in to Fraserburgh Station. For almost everyone in the crowd this was the first time they had seen a steam locomotive and many were too apprehensive about the possibility of  'the train taking it into its head to try some gymnastics on the Links' (Cranna) to stand too close to the railway line. Evidently it was a common misconception that railway accidents occurred so frequently that it would be foolhardy to approach too closely.  Monday 24th August was a public holiday in Fraserburgh and hundreds of people overcame their fears enough to buy cheap tickets for the special excursion trains to Aberdeen and intermediate stations.

The Links were the scene of an extraordinary spectacle in August 1904 when Buffalo Bill (Colonel Wild Bill Codey) and his Indian Braves brought an extraordinary extravaganza involving 500 horses and over 800 people, including  Annie Oakley and an  enormous staging  like a wild west film set, to the North-east. It is estimated that over 19,000 spectators watched the spectacle in Fraserburgh alone. The company was transported to Fraserburgh in 3 special trains consisting of 49 wagons specially adapted to carry the livestock, which included elephants, the set and circus performers.