Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Historic Vistas in Aberdeenshire

Culsap Monument
The Culsap Monument is one that was originally built in honour of people who fought in the wars, I believe, and allows people to see for miles around.

It's located at Culsh, northwest of Maud.
On a very clear day, one can see the North Sea from it. There is a very narrow, very dark winding staircase to the top, but it’s much too difficult to find one’s way to the top without a torch or flashlight.

The vistas are wonderful though, even from the ground. On a clear day, one can see to the North Sea by Fraserburgh.


























Aden House
Officially known as the Aden Manor with the “A” being pronounced softly, sometimes people refer to it as Aden House with a long “A”. Either way, at one time it was a magnificent house of grandeur belonging to the Laird (Lord) of Aden, with a surname of Russell, who owned vast parcels of land in the area.

The house is in ruins now, but housed the Russell family for many generations. There were huge gardens surrounding the place, and a mill, a distiller, and many tenant farms operating on their land—the Aden Estate. The opening to the huge root cellar can still be seen, as well as the opening where the ice was dropped inside.




The beauty of the grounds are still evident with 200 year old or more beech and copper beech trees, rowans, oaks, and various specimen trees that would have been introduced from other countries. Rhododendrons are also plentiful, as well as many other flowering shrubs and plants.


























The manor house is more easily accessed by the church in Old Deer, however, the paths lead to the Heritage Centre and Museum, which lies in one corner farther into what is well-known as the Aden Country Park. On a previous visit to Scotland, I toured this centre and the agricultural museum, which also has information on the Deer Abbey, another historical site of interest, where we went next.





















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