Stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
The Burn of Elsick is a coastal stream in Aberdeenshire , Scotland that discharges to the North Sea .[ 1] This watercourse drains primarily agricultural lands and enters the North Sea at Newtonhill .
History
The Burn of Elsick flows under the Causey Mounth , an ancient drovers road dating from circa 1100 AD ,[ 2] which track is extant as a hiking footpath . The Causey Mounth was built on high ground to make it passable and was the only available medieval route from coastal points south to Aberdeen . The route connected the crossing of the River Dee (where the present Bridge of Dee is located) 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 first battle of the Civil War in 1639.[ 2] [ 3] Standing above the burn's course is an historic home, Elsick House , owned by the Duke of Fife . The historic Gillybrands coaching inn and present day farm is situated on the banks of the Burn of Elsick.
A salmon fisherman's bothy stands perched above the cascading mouth of the burn.[ 4] In Victorian times the local area was a prolific source of salmon , but overfishing to serve the expanding human population has severely reduced the fishing stocks.
See also
References
^ United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale, 2004
^ a b c C.Michael Hogan, Causey Mounth , Megalithic Portal, ed. by A Burnham, Nov 3, 2007
^ Archibald Watt, Highways and Byways around Kincardineshire , Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)
^ Brian H. Watt, Old Newtonhill and Muchalls , Stenlake Publishing, Glasgow (2005)