South Lodge Arnage to Crosshill

Within a short distance of our  starting point by  the south lodge of Arnage Castle the Ebrie and the Line, which had run side by side for several miles, diverged. Grey Granite headed south towards Gallowhill of Ellon, a farm close to the Line, reached  from the outer world by  a bridge over the Line which runs through a cutting at this point.

The farm takes its grisly name from Gallow Hill which rises  to the east of the farm steading.  Grey Granite was pleased to come upon a young mum and two toddlers picking the brambles in the cutting by the farm. She said that berries from the Line  made far better jam than those from anywhere else.

Looking towards Gallowshill from the south, Kirkhill on the left

 The Great north of Scotland Railway Guide of 1881 states that,  'on the brow of the hill is a clump of trees, marking the spot where the gallows stood in the old days when lairds had the power of 'pit and gallows.' The Ebrie is thought to have been used as 'the pot' for drownings.

Railway Bridge Croft seen through all that remains of the railway bridge from which its name is taken

A storm moves in from the west over Bennachie

Bridge over the Line at Crosshill.

The pale mauve buddleja on the left embankment is one of the very few Grey Granite has seen on the F&B Way although they are dense long railway lines further south. Originally a garden plant' butterfly bushes' were first noted as escapees in South Wales in 1921. This plant was attracting small tortoiseshells and small whites, there were meadow browns amongst the willowherb which flourishes extensively in the cuttings along this section

The remains of the windmill at Hilton of Turnerhall Farm

Grey Granite left the Line at the Cookston Bridge in search of a parking place for the next section of the walk down to Ellon. From the bridge the conspicuous pink granite stump of the ill fated Hilton Windmill can be seen. This windmill was built in 1787 or 1825 in order to drive  a threshing machine. The lower section is octagonal and is 30 feet high, above it is a 20 feet high circular section. The sails were blown off the windmill in January 1879 during the same storm which was responsible for the Tay Bridge disaster. Subsequently the windmill was capped and horses were used to power the mill before being replaced by a stationary engine which set fire to the timber fittings in the windmill.

Savoch to Arnage Bradshaw's Handbook

'Aberdeenshire, which is one of the most extensive counties in Scotland....forms the north-east corner of the island, being the eastern-most part of a large triangle, which juts far out into the German Ocean....The greater part of it may be denominated a level plain, agreeably diversified by irregular depressions, and gently swelling slopes, forming a congeries of little knolls, with vales between, each intersected by its little rill, so as to exhibit the scenery, the general appearance of which is tolerably uniform, though its particular features are varied at every step.'

The description above, from Bradshaw's Descriptive Railway Handbook of Great Britain and Ireland, originally published in 1863, but reissued in facsimile earlier this year, perfectly fits this pleasant section of the Line. There was nothing dramatic, just pleasant, unspoiled rolling farmland basking, when Grey Granite and Rufus walked it in August heat.

 We headed south joining the Line at  Burngrains Bridge walking out of Buchan and into Formartine

The Line gently curves along the valley cut out by the Ebrie, following heavy showers the previous day the burn was running fast and babbled alongside the Line for much of our route. The main  watercourse is joined by several nameless tributaries. Place names in the immediate vicinity and the frequency of  mills along this short stretch of the  Line indicate that the power of the water was put to good use in the past, Milton of Inkhorn, Waulkmill of Savoch, Mill of Towie Miltown of Drumwhindle. Waulkmill, Cardinghill and Lintrigs indicate the importance of grain and textile industries.

Modern wind turbines replace the old watermills throughout  the district

Frog bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) in the Ebrie

This frog-bit is the first Grey Granite has ever seen, peered at through binoculars the white flowers are beautiful, reminiscent of Grass of Parnassus, seeing this was  a highlight of the whole Walking the Line project.

A concrete Linesman's hut by a bridge giving passage to fields on either side of the Line near Waulkmill of Auchnagatt

The platform at Arnage Station is now very overgrown and could easily be overlooked.  There were stone station buildings on the downside (west) at Arnage Station, these are now largely hidden by fencing and trees, houses have been built in the station yard.

On the East of the track are the extensive wooded policies of Arnage Castle, the castle itself is hidden by the trees.

A linesman's hut at the southern end of the  platform below doing duty as a garden shed at Arnage

 A loading platform to the west of the main platform at Arnage. A passing loop was added sometime after the station opened in July 1861

Auchnagatt to Savoch

On a blisteringly hot morning Grey Granite and Rufus walked down from Auchnagatt towards Arnage, such was the heat that they left the line at Burngrains Bridge and went to look for a suitable parking place for the next leg of their trek. This took them to Savoch Kirkyard, which they had seen on the horizon from Elrick Trout Fishery.

Walking south from Auchnagatt we again followed the Ebrie Burn and had the sense of walking through a wide amphitheatre surrounded by rolling farmland. The land adjacent to the Line was again damp and rushy, willows, alders and the occasional oak grow alongside the trackway. Unfortunately, traffic on the A948 disturbs the tranquillity of this section until the road and railway diverge close to the  Mill of Elrick

The Mill of Elrick,  note the solar panels on the roof of the mill which a has diversified by becoming a a trout fishery. There are several large ponds alongside the Line.

Looking west across one of the Mill of Elrick fish ponds Savoch Church may be seen on the skyline. Grey Granite is certain that the large bird she saw rising from one of the ponds was an osprey.

Enormous butterwort leaves by the mill.

The Ebrie Burn crosses and recrosses the Line in many places,  here it is densely lined with the willows which were used for basket making in the Auchnagatt area.

Savoch Church

The isolated church, now redundant, commands impressive views over beautiful rolling farmland and is situated about a quarter a mile west of  the Line near Ebrie Lodge (Leave the Line at Burngrains Bridge. The congregation would have consisted of the people from Auchnagatt, where there is no church,   and the surrounding countryside. Grey Granite noted the boot scrapers still on either side of the front door.

Savoch Church,  a originally Chapel of Ease for those living in the district,  was erected by subscription in 1834.The church has  a rectangular plan with a birdcage belfry at the east gable where there is also a porch. In May 1851 the Court of Teinds raised Savoch to the status of a parish formed from portions of New Deer, Old Deer, Ellon, Methlick and Tarves parishes. The terraced church yard was opened in 1877 when the church building greatly was improved. As part of the renovation the stained glass windows which can be seen  from the outside of the building were made and installed on either side of the pulpit. One window was presented by Mrs Udny of Udny, the other by the church's Woman's Guild. Savoch Church closed in October 1997. 

The belfry above the east gable east gable seen from the lower terrace of the kirkyard.

The inscription on this obelisk states 'That the churchyard  laid out by the parishioners at a cost of £300 was opened in 1877. The obelisk is visible on the upper terrace in the photograph above.

The elegant pink granite obelisk on the lower terrace of the kirkyard overlooks the beautiful farmland of the parish.Tellingly this records 39 deaths in WW1 and 4 from WW2. The devastatingly large list from 1914-18 includes William Milne DCM, William Robb MM .

On this lower terrace there are excellent examples of Victorian gravestones, many of polished granite topped with granite urns.

This stone close to the church on the upper terrace has a draped urn, popular in mid  Victorian times and the inscription:
Erected by James Gordon, Station Agent Auchnagatt in memory of his beloved son Robert died 23 August 1881, aged 4 years.

The Bridge over the Line at Burngrains, walking back to Auchnagatt we were very glad of the slight shade afforded by the bushes and trees in cutting from here to Mill of Elrick. There is a  path up the embankment by the bridge and parking at Savoch Church which will enable our walk to be resumed from this point.

North from Auchnagatt

The Buchan Formartine Way is crossed by the busy A948 close to the former Auchnagatt station. Our walk north from the station was through pleasant countryside, the Line follows the course of the Ebrie burn for the first mile or so and the gurgle of the burn could be heard in lulls in the noise of the traffic. Because the Line follows the watercourse and a wide valley flanked by gentle hills, there is a feeling of walking through a wide basin. The walk was fragrant firstly with dog roses, then as we passed through marshy fields with meadow sweet and sweet cecily, opposite Teuchitfold there was the  strong resinous smell from a  plantation of young conifers. 

Auchnagatt Village Hall is  situated adjacent to the site of Auchnagatt Station, the carpark is convenient for the walking  the Line.

The hall retains a slightly ecclesiastical air derived from its origins as the East Independent  Church in Stuartfield. This very small denomination was formed by the supporters of Reverend George A Johnson, a popular and gifted preacher who was removed from his charge at Deer parish Church in 1892 on account of his drunkenness. Loyal members of his congregation supported him and and built a church in Mill Street, Stuartfield at which he was able to continue his ministry. Known as The East Independent  Church, the wooden church had a slate roof and seating capacity of 450.  Johnson preached in  the church from 1893 until 1903 when he became a lay preacher in Shetland before eventually returning to the Church of Scotland. Meanwhile, in Auchnagatt it was  decided that the village needed a public hall and that the then  redundant Stuartfield church building should be purchased. Each member of the organizing committee contributed £5 and additional funds were raised by the community through various events to pay for the removal of the building from Stuartfied and its re-erection close to the railway Station. 

The Elbrie Burn runs between the Village Hall and the station then flows alongside the Line. It  joins the Ythan just north of Ellon. The name Auchnagatt is said to mean the place of the withies (willows) and to be derived from the baskets and creels  woven in the village from the willows growing alongside the Elbrie.

Auchnagatt Station, the concrete posts which supported the station name remain, the trees growing on the former platform include willows.

An eye catching sprawl of geranium above cow parsley and sweet cecily on the platform.

All that remains of the once busy station yard at Auchnagatt, in its heyday sidings and  five goods sheds dealt with  agricultural freight. Old O.S. maps indicate that there was a corn mill close to the station.

Foxgloves, dog roses and hogweed close to the station. There were many wild flowers along this pretty section of the Line, notably heartsease pansies, birds'foot trefoil, yellow rattle and white clover.

This bridge  just north of Cairncummer carries a farm road over the Line, an additional arch allows the Ebrie to flow under the farm road. The bridge retains part of the old telegraph wires which ran along the whole Buchan Line

A very well preserved precast concrete Linesman's hut in  a stand of beeches near Greenbrae.

Sliver birches along the Line north of North Greenbrae. There  extensive  rosebay willow herb along the route (as on the left above)

Approaching Auchnagatt from the north