New Leeds is a planned village in the Buchan

Buchan

Buchan is one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by the council in 1996, when the Aberdeenshire unitary council area was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994...

 area of Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire 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. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland 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...

, situated 5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) east of Strichen

Strichen

Strichen is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It sits on the A981, connecting it to New Deer to the southwest and Fraserburgh to the north-northeast, and the B9093, connecting it to New Pitsligo about four miles due west. The village got its name from Lord Strichen. It is situated on the River...

 at the foot of Mormond Hill

Mormond Hill

Mormond Hill is a large hill in Aberdeenshire, Scotland not far from Fraserburgh. The villages of Strichen and New Leeds can be found at its foot hills....

.

Nowadays New Leeds serves chiefly as a dormitory village for Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

 and Fraserburgh

Fraserburgh

Fraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...

.

Transport

Regular bus services operate to Fraserburgh and Aberdeen, and an on-demand Dial-a-bus service is also available.

New Leeds is adjacent to the A952 road

A952 road

The A952 road is a major highway in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This roadway is a north-south connector that serves as an inland bypass to the more coastally aligned A90 road. It runs from Toll of Birness in the south to Cortes in the north, passing through the communities of Ardallie, Clola, Mintlaw...

, which links with the A90 road

A90 road

The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire.From Edinburgh, it travels west and over the Forth Road Bridge, before turning into the M90 motorway. At Perth, the M90 again becomes the A90, now running north east to Dundee...

 north to Fraserburgh and south to Aberdeen and beyond.

The nearby Mormond railway station

Mormond railway station

Mormond railway station was a railway station near New Leeds, Aberdeenshire.-References:...

 closed in 1979, and now offers an access point to the Formartine and Buchan Way

Formartine and Buchan Way

The Formartine and Buchan Way is a long-distance footpath in Scotland, extending from Dyce north to Peterhead and Fraserburgh. It follows the track of a former railway line, the Formartine and Buchan Railway, and is open to walkers and cyclists. Horse riders are also welcome on parts of the track...

, the long-distance path that follows the route of the former railway.

Landmarks

On the slopes of Mormond Hill above the village is the White Stag of Mormond, a hill figure

Hill figure

A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural...

 marked with quartz stones, first laid out by Mr F. W. Cordiner of Cortes

Cortes, Aberdeenshire

Cortes is a rural settlement in the Banff and Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated in the parish of Rathen, south of Fraserburgh.The area stretches from the grounds of Cortes House in the west to Cortes Village in the east on the border with the adjacent parish of Lonmay.- Schools...

 to mark his wedding in 1870.

A more modern landmark is the pair of wind turbines erected in 2008 at Redbog, 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) north of the village. A further turbine at nearby West Cockmuir is planned.

Schools

Primary education is provided at Kininmonth School, 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the village, whilst secondary pupils travel to Mintlaw Academy

Mintlaw Academy

-History:The school opened in 1981 with about 600 enrolled students and a capacity of 1,000. By August 2003, it had about 920 enrolled students. The rector is Linda Evans...

, 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) away.

History

New Leeds was founded in the late 18th century by Alexander Fraser 8th of Strichen (fl.

Floruit

Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

 1764), whose ambition was that the village would grow to rival Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

in Yorkshire as a place of wool manufacture. Such ambitions were not to be realised, and by 1912 the village was suffering declining population, with many dwellings abandoned.