Kincardine and Mearns is one of six area committees of the Aberdeenshire council area in Scotland. It has a population of 38,506. There are significant natural features in this district including rivers, forests, mountains and bogs.
Findon is a fishing village eight miles south of Aberdeen, famous for originating the smoked haddock known as Finnan haddie. The Findon moor has a number of paths through it, many of which run along the cliffs. Deer can often be seen there. Nearby features include the Portlethen Moss Nature Reserve.
Newtonhill is a commuter town in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is popular due to its location, just six miles south of Aberdeen with easy reach of Stonehaven and with views over the North Sea.
Portlethen Village is a settlement located to the east of Portlethen along the North Sea coast in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village is also known as Old Portlethen. The skerry of Craigmaroinn is situated just off the coastline near Portlethen Village.
Muchalls is a small coastal ex-fishing village in Kincardineshire, Scotland, south of Newtonhill and north of Stonehaven. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls. At the western edge of Muchalls is the historic Saint Ternan's Church. The rugged North Sea coastline near Muchalls features numerous cliffs, sea stacks and headlands, not infrequently in haar. The Grim Brigs headland is situated at Muchalls southern edge and Doonie Point headland is approximately 1.5 kilometres south.
The Burn of Muchalls is an easterly flowing stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea. Its point of discharge is on a rocky beach set with scenic sea stacks. Flowing principally over agricultural lands, the Burn of Muchalls traverses through the hamlet of the Bridge of Muchalls, flows beneath the A90 road and thence to the rugged shoreline of the North Sea slightly to the south of Doonie Point. Just above the discharge to the North Sea is a scenic pool, used in the drowning scene of Ophelia in the Franco Zeffirelli film Hamlet. A northern fork of the Burn of Muchalls flows over lands of Muchalls Castle prior to the confluence with the mainstem Burn of Muchalls within the Bridge of Muchalls.
The Burn of Pheppie is an easterly flowing coastal stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea immediately north of the village of Muchalls. Draining chiefly agricultural lands, this stream has a notable lack of turbidity and a pH level of approximately 8.02. Armouring of the stream bottom consists of pebbles, many of which are quartzite in composition, leading to a golden-green effect in some locations. Other nearby watercourses discharging to the North Sea include Burn of Elsick to the north and Burn of Muchalls to the south.
The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these two cities until the mid 20th century, when modern highway construction of the A90 road occurred in this area. There are extant paved and usable sections of this road over part of the alignment; however, many parts of the ancient route are no more than footpaths, and in some cases the road has vanished into agricultural fields. Constructed in the Middle Ages, the Causey Mounth was created as an elevated rock causeway to span many of the boggy areas such as the Portlethen Moss. A considerable portion of the alignment of the Causey Mounth is illustrated on the UK Ordnance Survey Map, although a large fraction of the route cannot be navigated by a conventional passenger vehicle.
Elsick House is a historic house in Kincardineshire, North-East Scotland. It is situated in an agricultural area about two miles from the North Sea near the town of Newtonhill; the Elsick Estate is situated within the watershed of the Burn of Elsick, a stream that traverses the estate. The house is located on the Elsick Estate, and is the present family seat of the Duke of Fife.
Cammachmore is a hamlet in the coastal region near the North Sea in Aberdeenshire. It lies slightly west of the A92 road and the ancient Causey Mounth passes through the community. Historic Elsick House is situated due west of Cammachmore. Other nearby historic features include Gillybrands, Saint Ternan's Church, Muchalls Castle and the Lairhillock Inn.
Cookney is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in proximity to Netherley in the Mounth of the Grampian Highlands. The community is situated on a hilltop approximately 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Stonehaven, about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of the Bridge of Muchalls, and about 2 miles (3 km) west of Muchalls Castle. From Cookney a portion of the ancient route of the Causey Mounth is visible to the east near Whinward Farm, although the track is not truly recognizable from that distance. The Cookney Church is a prominent historic landmark of Cookney.
Banchory-Devenick is a hamlet approximately two kilometres south of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire. The hamlet should not be confused with the historic civil parish of the same name which spanned the River Dee until 1891, its northern part lying in Aberdeenshire and its southern part in Kincardineshire. In that year the northern part became part of the neighbouring parish of Peterculter, the southern part remaining as the parish of Banchory-Devenick. The hamlet of Banchory-Devenick is on the B9077 road, and the ancient Causey Mounth passes directly through it. An historic graveyard dating to 1157 AD is present within Banchory-Devenick. Other historic features in the vicinity include Saint Ternan's Church, Muchalls Castle and the Lairhillock Inn.
Megray Hill is a low-lying coastal mountainous landform in Aberdeenshire, Scotland within the Mounth Range of the Grampian Mountains. The peak elevation of this mountain is 120 metres above mean sea level. This hill has been posited as a likely location for the noted Battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the indigenous Caledonians. The major Roman Camp of Raedykes is situated about three kilometres to the west. From Megray Hill there are expansive views to the North Sea facing east. The summit affords scenic views of the historic harbour of Stonehaven.
Saint Ternan's Church is an Episcopal church in the Diocese of Brechin, near Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Doonie Point is a rocky headland situated approximately 1.5 kilometres south of the village of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The clifftop of Doonie Point yields views to the north of Grim Brigs, Brown Jewel and the coast of Newtonhill. To the south are views of the Castle Rock of Muchalls and the rugged North Sea coastline toward Stonehaven. Notable historic structures in the vicinity of Doonie Point are the Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan, Muchalls Castle and the Mill of Muchalls. This site is a recognised rock climbing venue. Doonie Point is catalogued within the marine rescue activities for this part of the coast of northeast Scotland.
Grim Brigs is a rocky headland on the North Sea at Muchalls, Scotland. Notable historic features in this vicinity include St. Ternan's Church, Muchalls Castle and Elsick House. Approximately one kilometre inland is the noted medieval drovers' road known as the Causey Mounth. The geology of Grim Brigs is associated with the harder rock formations north of the Highland Boundary Fault, which forms the boundary between the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands. This Highland Boundary Fault emerges at the North Sea approximately four kilometres south of Grim Brigs near the Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan.
Cookney Parish Church, now business premises within a converted listed building, was a Christian place of worship in the village of Cookney, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Craigmaroinn is a skerry in the North Sea near the Aberdeenshire coastline in Scotland. Craigmaroinn is situated midway between the coastal villages of Portlethen Village and Downies. Historical points of interest in the local area are Elsick House, Gillybrands and Muchalls Castle.
The Brown Jewel is a sea stack on the North Sea coast of Scotland, north of the village of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire.
The Mill of Muchalls is an historic water-powered mill located along the Burn of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This mill is situated near to the coast of the North Sea proximate to Doonie Point. The earliest position of the village of Muchalls lay slightly to the south of the Mill of Muchalls. The Mill of Muchalls is situated slightly to the east of the ancient Causey Mounth trackway, a drovers' road established at least as early as the High Middle Ages.
