The
Burn of Elsick is a
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al
streamIn Scotland, North East England and some parts of Ireland and New Zealand, burn is a name for watercourses from large streams to small rivers. The term is also used in lands settled by the Scots and Northern English in other countries, notably in Otago, New Zealand, where much of the naming was...
in
AberdeenshireAberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
that discharges to the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
. This
watercourseA watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, brooks, anabranches, and so forth....
drains primarily agricultural lands and enters the North Sea at
NewtonhillNewtonhill is a medium population village of 3,110 in Aberdeenshire, located between Southern Portlethen, Northern Muchalls and the larger Stonehaven . The village, originally called Skateraw, has two commercial outlets; a convenience store and a pharmacy, the pharmacy previously being a bakery...
.
The Burn of Elsick flows under the
Causey MounthThe Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...
, an ancient drovers road dating from circa 1100 AD, which track is extant as a hiking footpath. The
Causey MounthThe Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...
road, built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al points south to
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
.
The
Burn of Elsick is a
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al
streamIn Scotland, North East England and some parts of Ireland and New Zealand, burn is a name for watercourses from large streams to small rivers. The term is also used in lands settled by the Scots and Northern English in other countries, notably in Otago, New Zealand, where much of the naming was...
in
AberdeenshireAberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
that discharges to the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
. This
watercourseA watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, brooks, anabranches, and so forth....
drains primarily agricultural lands and enters the North Sea at
NewtonhillNewtonhill is a medium population village of 3,110 in Aberdeenshire, located between Southern Portlethen, Northern Muchalls and the larger Stonehaven . The village, originally called Skateraw, has two commercial outlets; a convenience store and a pharmacy, the pharmacy previously being a bakery...
.
History
The Burn of Elsick flows under the
Causey MounthThe Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...
, an ancient drovers road dating from circa 1100 AD, which track is extant as a hiking footpath. The
Causey MounthThe Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...
road, built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al points south to
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
. This medieval land passage specifically connected the crossing of the
River DeeThe River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen.-Geography:...
(where the present
Bridge of DeeThe Bridge of Dee or Brig o' Dee is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527, the bridge crosses at what was once the City of Aberdeen's southern boundary...
is located) via
Portlethen MossThe Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve in the coastal Grampian region in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Like other mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subject to certain development and agricultural degradation pressures...
,
Muchalls CastleMuchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
and
StonehavenStonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland...
to the south. The route was that taken by
William Keith, 7th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 7th Earl Marischal was a Scottish nobleman and Covenanter. He was the eldest son of William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal...
and the Marquess of Montrose when they led a
CovenanterThe Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century. In religion the movement is most associated with the promotion and development of Presbyterianism as a form of church government favoured by the people, as opposed to Episcopacy, favoured by...
army of 9000 men in the first battle of the Civil War in 1639. In the watershed is an historic home,
Elsick HouseElsick House is an historic house in Kincardineshire, , northeast Scotland. The house is situated in an agricultural area about two miles from the North Sea near the town of Cammachmore; moreover, the Elsick Estate is situated within the Burn of Elsick watershed, which stream traverses the estate...
, owned by the
Duke of FifeDuke of Fife is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, named after Fife in Scotland. There have been two creations of the title, the first in 1889 and the second in 1900, both in favour of Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife in the Peerage of Ireland and 1st Earl of Fife in the Peerage of the...
. The historic
GillybrandsGillybrands is an historic coaching inn and present day farm steading near Cammachmore, Scotland. It was operating as a coaching inn along the ancient Causey Mounth drovers' road as early as the twelfth century AD, and original stone foundations from that era are extant. Other nearby historic...
coaching innIn Europe, from approximately the mid 17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
and present day farm is situated on the banks of the Burn of Elsick.
The Salmon Fisherman's
BothyA bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are to be found in remote, mountainous areas of Scotland, northern England and Wales. They are...
stands perched above the cascading mouth of the Burn of Elsick. In Victorian times the local area was a prolific source of
salmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish of the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the family are called trout; the difference is often attributed to the migratory life of the salmon as compared to the residential behaviour of trout, a distinction that holds true for the Salmo...
, but
overfishingOverfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
to serve the
expanding human populationOverpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth....
has severely reduced the fishing stocks.