Strichen Viaduct to Howford: A Spring walk.

Crossing the viaduct at Strichen, Grey Granite was attracted by the abundance of wild flowers, wood anemones and celandines in particular, growing on the banks of the Ugie below the viaduct and went down to explore. A clearly marked footpath, reached from close to the road bridge over the Ugie, leads along the bank of the Ugie emerging at Howford Farm from where, by turning left along the farm road, the Line may easily be rejoined east of Strichen Station. Grey Granite walked back along the Line to the viaduct in bright spring sunshine.

The piers of the bridge have been colonised by grasses, dandelions and a small elder sapling. The tranquil area alongside the river is secluded and sheltered from the road above by a steep bank and trees - willow, ash, elm and beech. It can be quite wet and boggy but makes a delightful walk particularly in spring when there are often mallards on the river.

  Dense clumps of wood anemones and celandines line the banks of the Ugie

Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) a delicate white flower with a blush of pink on the underside of the petals,  also known as Wind Flower.

Howford Farm (The French Farm) seen from the Line. The track along the Ugie emerges close to the humped backed Howford Bridge (1777)  which carried the old coach road over the river just below the farm.

A replica of the original station sign has appeared on the platform at the east end of Strichen station.

The viaduct looking back towards Strichen Station. The beech, willows, sycamore and  birch trees along the Line are developing a feint haze of new green leaves, whilst ash flowers, 'delicate as flowers of grass' are also starting to open.



On a sunny embankment close to Strichen Station these, the first violets of the year, were emerging from the dry undergrowth.

Mormond Hill from the kirkyard which is to the south  of the Line just beyond the viaduct.

'Strichen which is without exception, the most attractive and picturesque spot on the whole line. Lying in a snug little valley, with the towering crest of Mormond on the one side, the limpid waters of the Ugie on the other, and embowered among trees - Strichen is, without doubt, one of the prettiest little villages in Buchan.'

From 'The Howes of Buchan' William Anderson 1865

Anderson's guide to places of interest along the route of the Buchan Railway  exaggerates the grandeur of Mormond Hill but during today's walk along  the short section of Line skirting the village Strichen lived up to his description.

Parkhill Station and Gavin Greig

Parkhill Station has all but disappeared. It is marked by the remains of the single platform on the upside of the track and two tall stately yew trees growing close to the line on the downside where once there was a small goods yard. The station was built to serve the surrounding countryside rather than a particular community and closed to passengers in 1950, the goods yard survived until 1961.From Parkhill the only section of double track on the Formartine and Buchan Line ran for about 1.5 miles to Elrick signal box. This short section was probably put in place to prevent all important fish being delayed by pasenger trains. The downhill section of track from New Machar to Parkhill, where speeds of almost 70 m.ph. could be reached, was one of the fastest stretches of track on the whole of the Buchan Line.

The remains of the large signal gantry at Elrick.The short section of double track ended at Elrick. Here on the downside of the track, a huge concrete plinth and two iron sockets set into the embankment are all that remains of a signal gantry. This signal had 6 arms and in the 1950s was used for eyesight testing.

Gavin Greig, was  born 10th Feb 1856, the son of a forester on the Parkhill Estate, he could claim to be a distant relative of Robert Burns on his mother's side and of Evard Grieg on his father's side. A typical 'lad o' pairts' he attended Aberdeen University before becoming school master at Whitehill near New Deer teaching there until his death in 1914. Greig became the  foremost collector of NE folk songs collecting over 3,000 folk songs and tunes, many of which were eventually published in a monumental  8 volume collection. His Doric play, 'Mains Wooin' was very popular before World War 2 and is still occasionally performed.

Off the Beaten Tracks

A long way off track, a couple of dilapidated old carriages at Redhouse Farm, Rathen

Maud to Brucklay:The missing link

Grey Granite and Rufus were delighted to be told by a lady who was planting her spare daffodil bulbs by the side of the Line at Maud that the section of Line between Maud and Brucklay Station is now unofficially open. This missing link completes the route from Fraserburgh to Maud and avoids a diversion along the road. 

Leaving Maud Station the Line crosses the B9029 by a bridge still guarded by a WW2 pillbox

The WW2 pillbox

The Culsh Monument to Dingwall Fordyce, Aberdeenshires first MP on the hill above New Deer. The monument and the square tower of St Kame's Church, New Deer, can be seen from Line by looking west near the crossing with the South Ugie Water.

The 1876 monument to William Dingwall Fordyce is situated on the summit of Culsh Hill directly above the graveyard. The 80' high monument is constructed of dressed ashlar, a spiral staircase leads to the viewing platform directly below the spire but can no longer be entered. William Dingwall Fordyce was the first MP for Aberdeenshire. A Liberal, he was a benevolent, improving conditions for his tenants by introducing insurance for their cottages and increasing their mobility by running weekly carriages to Banff, Aberdeen and Peterhead. He was also largely influential in ensuring that the Buchan Railway was extended north beyond Ellon. It seems apposite that the monument can can be seen from the former railway line.

A wooden linesmans' hut close to Atherb

There are several distance markers on this section. This marker, denoting  32.5 miles from Aberdeen, is currently wedged into a lineside tree trunk near North Atherb 

Brucklay Station

A considerable amount of tree felling has been carried out to transform this section of Line and to open it up. When Grey Granite and Rufus last visited Brucklay Station in August 2010,  the Line was impassible beyond the new Brucklay Bridge. The good surface now makes for very easy walking.

Beware! We did hear shooting in the distance from time to time and saw several elegant pheasants.

Rufus surveying the Line from a vantage point on the bridge over the South Ugie Water

Deer Abbey Bridge

Deer Abbey Bridge from the south, looking towards the trees of Pitfour

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This extraordinary Bridge is situated on the minor road, linking the A950 and B9029 which crosses the Formartine and Buchan Way at Bridgend, about 50 metres west of the Abbey of Deer. The bridge crosses the South Ugie Water, the boundary between the estates of Aden to the south of the river and Pitfour to the north. The southern half of the bridge is narrower than the northern half, this bizarre architecture came about because of a dispute between the  Fergusons of Pitfour and the Russells of Aden. The Fergusons carried out extensive landscaping of their estate, turning it into what became known as  'The Blenheim of the North'. The improvements included the creation of the 27acre Pitfour Lake by James Ferguson, the third laird who became MP for Aberdeenshire in 1790. The Russells of Aden feared that the artificial lake would cause flooding at Aden. The Fergusons ignored their concerns but the Russells got their revenge when the Pitfour side of the bridge was widened to allow coaches to pass over it. The Russells stymied this plan simply by refusing to widen their side and so the uneven bridge remains passable to single file traffic only.

Den of Old Maud

Maud Junction,  a distinctly autumnal look with fallen leaves. The lay out of the station reflected the need for lines to split to serve Peterhead and Fraserburgh and for the extensive goods yards needed by the cattle mart. The Peterhead platform is on the right, the Fraserburgh ones to the left, the goods yard was further left.




Maud Hospital,  originally the Buchan Combination Poorhouse, this imposing building designed by Alexander Ellis, was opened on 26th January 1869 in order to provide deliberately spartan accommodation for the poor of parishes across Buchan. This view from the Line just south of  Maud Station shows the side of the building. The presence of the railway and resultant good links across Buchan was a factor in the selection of Maud as the site for the poorhouse. The poorhouse assisted the development of Maud by providing employment for local tradesmen and craftsmen, including tailors who made uniforms from tweed and corduroy for the inmates, joiners who did maintenance work and made coffins. The school roll was considerably increased by the number of child inmates.



Buchan Combination Poorhouse, now Maud Hospital, from Hospital Road. The institution was taken over by Aberdeen County Council in 1930 when it became known as Maud Home. At this time it catered for 160 including 'ordinary poor, mental defectives, harmless lunatics and chronic sick'. The building was described as having 'narrow dark central corridors, with day rooms and dormitories on either side, enjoying neither cross light or cross ventilation'. The home was handed  over to the National Health Service in 1948 and became known as Maud Hospital.

The Line snakes along the eastern edge of  the Den of Old Maud, chiefly on an shallow embankment. On either side the land is marshy, there are extensive areas of ash trees and occasional willows and rowans in the den. As we walked along this section a single buzzard, flying high over the den was being mobbed by a group of rooks to which it remained indifferent. 

The willow herb seeds along the Line provided food for a flock of finches

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At the southern end of the Den there is a stand of immense beech trees one of which has recently lost a huge branch. The torn limb revealed rotten wood at its junction with the trunk but had this year's leaves on the branches.

Rusty leaves and beech mast littering the path.

Philorth to Rathen Station

Ripening brambles near Rathen Station

Grey Granite and Rufus have continued to walk the line throughout the summer but it has been inexplicably  impossible to upload onto the blog. Hopefully normal postings can now be resumed.

Today we walked from Philorth Halt to Rathen Station in beautiful, warm autumnal sunshine. The Line has already taken on a distinctly autumnal look. There are few flowers remaining on this stretch, the brightest colour comes from fruits and seeds along the path side. Small flocks of crows were sitting on the Line returning to the harvested grain fields as we approached. Three buzzards wheeled and high cried over Philorth woods.

Despite the autumnal look of the Line it was very warm and as we walked broom seed pods were bursting noisily.

Rosebay willow herb seed head, the long seeds were drifting across the line like threads of spider webs.

Dog rose hips, many exposed bushes have already shed their leaves

A line of exposed trees behind Philorth Halt has already been striped bare by the recent gales.