Brucklebog

This is one of two water wheels that drove mill machinery at Milton of Crathes. It is an undershot wheel.

Until the bridge was built a little distance upstream, this was the only way across the Coy Burn.

The steps lead up to a field where customers can try out fishing rods and casting techniques.

The lower bridge is an old packhorse bridge built to allow travellers to avoid having to use the ford. The higher one was built to carry the railway line over the burn. I'm standing on a third one, which is a tatty-looking concrete effort, and behind me are the pillars and arches of the modern A93 road bridge. It was, sadly, impossible to photograph the arch of the old bridge without getting the railway bridge, or the tatty concrete bridge, or the ugly blue-and-white portable building on the nearby sports field, in the picture. Maybe another time I will go wading and see if it is possible.

The slightly humped bridge was built in the 18th century. It retains the old cobbled surface. It is part of a trio of bridges that are Category B Listed because of how they illustrate the history of crossings of the Coy Burn. A fourth bridge is mentioned briefly as being of insufficient merit to list.

Looking pretty dreary on a dreich day, these fields are east of the castle itself.

This field next to Crathes Castle has already been harvested and the straw baled and removed.

Looking downstream from the point where the 'blue' waymarked walk from the car park reaches the bank of the burn.

This is a fairly common fungus with a dark red cap, but I don't know what sort it is.

The boardwalk is evidently necessary so that visitors can follow the path alongside the Burn of Coy without plowtering through mud. Today, however, it was dry enough to climb down and look more closely at the plants if one wished to do so.

Recently emerged and still undamaged by whatewver it is that eats holes in the caps of fungi.

A pool formed in a bend of the burn, looking downstream.

Link

Geocaching is a type of global treasure hunt of people looking for caches, or hidden stashes of objects. Geocaching may also be described as a series of hide-and-seek games, where hiders provide online clues for seekers. Seekers use global positioning system (GPS) devices to find hidden caches

Art Trail Hare, there and everywhere! Clan Cancer Support, the north-east’s leading cancer support charity, has partnered with Wild in Art once again to bring an exciting new art trail to the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. The Big Hop Trail will take the public on another cultural tour of the north-east and the islands from July to September 2023, with hare sculptures designed and created by some of the country’s most talented artists. The trail coincides with Clan’s 40th anniversary, with the 40 hares being the focal point to celebrate the charity’s commitment to supporting people affected by cancer. We chose the hare sculpture as they are an indigenous animal found in all parts of Clan’s geography. Much like our clients during their cancer journey, hares have to navigate rough and difficult terrain in order to survive. They are also adaptable, like our services team who deliver support to anyone affected by cancer. Most importantly, hares have incredible hearing. What better way to depict our lifeline listening and support service and the importance of being heard?

Deeside Way is a 41-mile walking and cycling pat betwwen Aberdeen and Ballater in Scotland. It also forms route 195 of the National Cycle Network. Large parts of the route make use of a former railway line between Aberdeen and Ballater. As its name suggests, the route follows the route of the River Dee. For more information, see Link

Burnett (argent three holly leaves in chief vert and a hunting horn in base sable garnished and stringed gules) impaling Moncrieff (or Moncreiff) (argent a lion rampant gules a chief ermine) commemorating the marriage of Thomas Burnett (1st Baronet of Leys) and Jean Moncrieff in 1621. As seen beside the main door of Crathes Castle. For more see 'The Family of Burnett of Leys with Collateral Branches' by George Burnett, publ. 1901 (available as a download from archive.org).