Portlethen Village

Portlethen Village is a settlement located to the east of Portlethen along the North Sea coast in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.^[1] The village is also known as Old Portlethen. The skerry of Craigmaroinn is situated just off the coastline near Portlethen Village.

History

Portlethen Village is situated slightly to the east of the ancient Causey Mounth trackway, which road was constructed to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points south from Stonehaven north to Aberdeen. This ancient trackway specifically connected the River Dee crossing (where the present Bridge of Dee is situated) via Portlethen Moss, Muchalls Castle and Stonehaven to the south.^[2] The route was that taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and the Marquess of Montrose when they led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the battle of the Civil War in 1639.^[3]

For centuries prior to the collapse of local marine fisheries in the 1900s, Portlethen Village derived its livelihood from use of small oceangoing wooden boats in pursuit of North Sea fish. It also has a small public house called The Neuk.

Castle

It has been noted that Portlethen Village once had a castle nearby similar to the one at Muchalls. Legend has it that Portlethen castle had a secret cave leading to the sea like the one at Muchalls Castle. No one is sure why this 17th-century building no longer exists. It stood at the site of the Mains of Portlethen farm. Remains of the castle's walls are present in the farmhouse. The castle may have been L-Plan like most of the castles in the area, such as Muchalls Castle. The castle was built by Robert Buchan, who owned the estate of Portlethen in the 17th century.

Footnotes

^ United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale, 2004
^ C.Michael Hogan, Causey Mounth, Megalithic Portal, ed. by A. Burnham, 3 November 2007
^ Watt, Archibald, Highways and Byways around Kincardine, Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)

57°03′25″N 2°06′48″W / 57.05688°N 2.11324°W / 57.05688; -2.11324

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[1] United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale, 2004

[2] C.Michael Hogan, Causey Mounth, Megalithic Portal, ed. by A. Burnham, 3 November 2007

[3] Watt, Archibald, Highways and Byways around Kincardine, Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)

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v t e Settlements and places of interest in Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire
Primary settlements	Auchenblae Chapelton Drumoak Fettercairn Gourdon Inverbervie Johnshaven Laurencekirk Newtonhill Portlethen St Cyrus Stonehaven
Other settlements	Arbuthnott Banchory-Devenick Benholm Bridge of Muchalls Cammachmore Catterline Cookney Downies Drumlithie Edzell Woods Findon Fordoun Glenbervie Kinneff Kirkton of Durris Luthermuir Maryculter Marykirk Muchalls Netherley Portlethen Village Tewel
Places of interest	Causey Mounth Crawton Drum Castle Dunnicaer Dunnottar Castle Fetteresso Castle Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve (Craiglethy) Monboddo House Muchalls Castle Normandykes Portlethen Moss Raedykes Stonehaven Open Air Pool Stonehaven Tolbooth Storybook Glen

v t e Areas and primary settlements in Aberdeenshire (see also: Aberdeen City)
in Banff and Buchan	Aberchirder Banff Fraserburgh Gardenstown Inverallochy and Cairnbulg Macduff Portsoy Rosehearty Sandhaven Whitehills
in Buchan	Boddam Crimond Cruden Bay Fetterangus Hatton Longside Maud Mintlaw New Deer New Pitsligo Peterhead St Combs St Fergus Strichen Stuartfield
in Formartine	Balmedie Cuminestown Ellon Fyvie Newburgh Oldmeldrum Pitmedden Potterton Rothienorman Tarves Turriff
in Garioch	Blackburn Insch Inverurie Kemnay Kintore Newmachar Westhill
in Kincardine and Mearns	Drumoak Fettercairn Gourdon Inverbervie Johnshaven Laurencekirk Luthermuir Newtonhill Portlethen St Cyrus Stonehaven
in Marr	Aboyne Alford Ballater Banchory Braemar Huntly Lumphanan Tarland Torphins

History

Castle

See also

Footnotes