Oyne | |
---|---|
A picture of Oyne taken from Bennachie | |
Location within Aberdeenshire | |
OS grid reference | NJ672259 |
Council area | |
Lieutenancy area |
|
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | INSCH |
Postcode district | AB52 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Oyne is a small village in rural Aberdeenshire at the bottom of Bennachie in Scotland.
The village has limited local resources. It once had a railway station which closed 6 May 1968, and now has a daily bus service to Inverurie 8 miles (13 km) away and to Huntly. The area is popular with commuters to Inverurie/Huntly/Aberdeen. The area has a number of large private houses such as Westhall House, which was a small hotel until the 1990s. The Horn family were lairds of Westhall. [1]
Oyne is set on a landscape of mountains right at its doorstep.
Oyne also has a café and shop called "Touched by Scotland". Selling souvenirs and snacks, all the goods made in the shop and café are either locally grown or home made.
Oyne School is in the centre of the village of Oyne, is non-denominational and the catchment area is the village of Oyne and the surrounding rural area. The school's current pupil roll numbers in the 50s. The main school building dates back to 1874 but has been substantially modernised and extended to provide the current 3 teacher accommodation. The school has an extensive playing field to the rear of the building.
Of note is the ancient seat of the family of Leith of Harthill, Harthill Castle (sometimes called 'Torries'), which stands close to the parish church. It dates from at least the 15th century and was extensively restored in 1638 by John Leith, the "violent laird". The castle was set on fire in the late 17th century, possible by John's son, Patrick Leith, to prevent it from falling into the hands of Leith creditors. It stood as a ruin for the next 300 years.
Ann Tweedy Savage purchased the castle in 1975 and with Slessor Troup, one of the area's top master masons, restored it between 1975 and 1977. The restoration work won the Saltire Award in 1977.
Harthill Castle is a pink-washed Z-plan twin-tower building, seven storeys (77 ft or 23 m) high, made of solid granite, and set in woodland and farmland in Oyne at the foot of Bennachie. The ground floor is vaulted and has arrow slits and musket holes for windows. The next two storeys are partially vaulted. There are circular staircases in each tower, each rising counter-clockwise. The Great Hall has a 17-foot (5.2 m) fireplace that predates the building and was probably brought to the property by the Leiths from their previous home.
Braemar Castle is situated near the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a possession of the chief of Clan Farquharson and is leased to a local charitable foundation. It is open to the public.
Insch is a village in the Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located approximately 28 miles (45 km) from the city of Aberdeen.
Garioch is one of six committee areas in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has a population of 46,254, which gives it the largest population of Aberdeenshire's six committee areas. The Garioch consists primarily of the district drained by the River Ury and its tributaries the Shevock and the Gadie Burn.
The Tower of Hallbar, also known as Hallbar Tower and Braidwood Castle, is a 16th-century tower house, located to the west of the River Clyde in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The tower is situated above the Braidwood Burn, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) south-west of Carluke, and 1.5 km (0.93 mi) east of Crossford. It has been restored and is let out as holiday accommodation.
Fa'side Castle (Faside Estate) has previously been known as Fawside, Falside, Ffauside, Fauxside, or Fawsyde and is a 15th-century keep located in East Lothian in Scotland. The castle is approximately 2 miles (3 kilometres) southwest of Tranent, and 2 mi (3 km) southeast of Musselburgh. The building was restored in the 1980s and is now protected as a category B listed building.
Gallarus Castle is a four-storey rectangular tower house in Baile na nGall, County Kerry, Ireland and is notable as one of the few fortified structures preserved on the Dingle Peninsula.
Pinkie House is a historic house, built around a three-storey tower house located in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. The house dates from the 16th century, was substantially enlarged in the early 17th century, and has been altered several times since. Its location at grid reference NT348726 is to the east of the town centre, on the south side of the High Street. The building now forms part of Loretto School, an independent boarding school. Pinkie House is not far from the site of the disastrous Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, fought in 1547.
Clonony is a small village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is noted for Clonony Castle, a late medieval tower house built in 1500. The village is between the River Brosna and the Grand Canal, in the parish of Gallen and Reynegh. The nearest town is Cloghan, 2.8 km (1.7 mi) to the south-east along the R357 road. Athlone is 22 km (14 mi) to the north.
Great Junction Street is a street in Leith, on the northern outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland. It runs southeast to northwest following approximately the southwestmost line of the old town walls around Leith.
Auchleven is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Located approximately 4 miles south of Insch, 17 mi (27 km) south of Huntly and 12 mi (19 km) north-west of Inverurie.
Polkemmet Country Park is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the town of Whitburn in West Lothian, Scotland and east of the village of Greenrigg. It is a 3 star Visitor Attraction (Visitscotland). It is adjacent to the M8 motorway, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the "Heart of Scotland" services at Harthill. It was developed on the estate of Polkemmet House, a country house which was demolished in the 1960s. The estate was bought by West Lothian District Council in 1978, and the country park was opened to the public in 1981. The park covers 169 hectares, and is managed by West Lothian Council. The park is also home to the Scottish Owl Centre.
Auchanachie Castle, also known as Achanachie Castle or Auchanachy Castle, is a tower house dating from the sixteenth century, 5 miles north-west of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Arnage Castle is a country house, incorporating a Z-plan tower house, located around 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Ellon, in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. The tower house dates from the late 16th century, and was extended in subsequent centuries.
Udny Castle is a tower house in the parish of Udny, southwest of the village of Pitmedden and northeast of the hamlet of Udny Green, Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. The area is generally flat but the castle is sited on the highest ground and can be seen for a considerable distance. Its exact construction date is unknown, but its foundations probably date from the late 14th or early 15th century. Additional storeys were added and a later extension, described as a "modern mansion", was incorporated but subsequently demolished. It is a Category A listed building.
Balfluig Castle is an L-plan tower house, dating from the mid-16th century, a mile south of Alford, in the Howe of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The tower is conspicuous throughout the Howe. It may be viewed by appointment.
Fordyce Castle is a T-plan castle, its oldest part dating from 1592, about three miles south-west of Portsoy, in the village of Fordyce, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Lickleyhead Castle is a well-restored L-plan castle, dating from around 1600, a little south of Auchleven, by the banks of the Gadie Burn, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Alternative spellings are Licklihead and Licklyhead Castle.
Pitlurg Castle was a 16th-century keep, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Keith, Banffshire, Scotland, north of the Burn of Davidston, at Mains of Pitlurg.
Castle Kennedy is a ruined 17th-century tower house, about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of the village of Castle Kennedy.
Harthill Castle is a large 17th-century Z-plan castle, about 5.5 miles (9 km) west-north-west of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, south of Kirkton of Oyne, at grid reference NJ687252.