It was hoped to have found a description of the Crathes area in the Statistical Account of Scotland. However, because of the more important township of Banchory-Ternan nearby, Crathes has apparently not been described in details or isolation. The following is a collection of facts and observations about Crathes. Under Construction Location and topography: Crathes lies in the Dee valley some 18kms south-west of the city of Aberdeen. Bounded by the River Dee to the south, the Hill of Fare to the north, The Burn o’ Bennie at Banchory to the west and Drumoak to the east, Crathes is an area of rural land comprising arable agriculture, forest, peat bog and one principal settlement. Generally the topography rises from xxm at the Dee in the south to xxxm at the base of the Hill of Fare in the north, affording the area a pleasant southerly aspect. Climate: Lying between the high mountains and the sea, Crathes neither suffers from the extremes of the hills nor the wind and fog of the coastal strip. Temperate would describe the climate. Average summer temperature lies at around 12c and winter around 3c. Maximum summer temperatures are around 20c and minimum winter temperatures -15c. Snow can occur between November and March with up to 40cms in extreme winters. Geology: The underlying geology principally comprises metamorphic schists and gneises. At the Hill of Fare there is a boundary with a ‘Newer Calidonite’ granite. It is at Craigton that granite was extracted for construction and there are still remnants of the quarry workings. Most of the area is covered by drift. Nearer the Dee this comprises ribbons of sand deposits which track the edge of the valley up to a height of around 30 metres above the flood plain. These sand deposits have been commerically worked in the past (near Milton of Crathes) and continue to be worked a Leith’s quarry near West Park. There is also evidence of sand working at Loch of Park to the NE of Crathes. Moving north from the Dee valley, the drift comprises glacial debris covering the shallow, undulating rock-head. This rock surface is overlain by a thin (less than 50cm) rotted/decayed layer. In the extreme north-eastern corner there is an area of peat bog where peat was cut in the past. In various locations the bedrock comes to the surface, normally at the topographic summits. Especially so in the grounds of Crathes Castle to the NW of the castle. Here the metamorphic rocks are massive, rounded outcrops often with extensive planar structures (Caroline’s Garden) or rounded ‘knobs’ with eroded joint planes. Some of these exposures are surrounded by fragments of debris which have rolled away from the main exposure. Flora: Outwith the areas of arable farmland there is managed woodland, unmanaged woodland, and scrub/marsh. Almost all managed woodland is in the form of pine plantations consisting of larch, spruce and scots pine. This is harvested at around 40-50 years growth with thinnings at intermediate times. Within the last 3 years the planting of willow as a biomass fuel crop has been undertaken on former agrigcultural land. Due to favourable grants and the need for cover for game birds, some limited planting of broadleaf species including oak, maple, beech and other indigenous species has been undertaken in the last 15 years. The unmanaged woodland comprises birch, ash, sycamore, alder, oak, beech, rowan, cherry (Geen),hazel and mixed pines. Wet areas around the Loch of Leys, Loch of Park and moorland to the north-east of Crathes are host to grasses, mosses, sedge, rushes and other wetland species. Fauna: Birds: Blackbird, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Crow, Cuckoo, Duck (Mallard), Fieldfare, Goldfinch, Goose (Greylag?), Greenfinch, Gull (herring), House Martin, Jackdaw, Jay, Magpie, Moorhen, Owl, Raven, Redwing (rare), Robin, Rook, Sand Martin, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrow, Starling, Swallow, Tit, Tit - Blue, Tit - Great,Tree Creeper, Wagtail - Grey, Wagtail - White or Pied, Woodpecker (great spotted), Wood pigeon, Wren Game birds: Pigeon, Duck, Goose, Pheasant (mostly reared), Quail, Partridge, Woodcock Raptors: Buzzard (increasing over last 20 years), Kestrel, Sparrow Hawk, Red Kite, Osprey (very rare)  Water and Sea-birds: Kingfisher, Heron, Seagull, Oyster Catcher, Curlew, Lapwing Reptiles:  Lizard, Frog, Toad, Newt Mammals: Rabbit, Hare, Weasel, Stoat, Hedgehog, Red Squirrel ( in decline), Grey Squirrel (recent arrival), Roe Deer, Badger, Fox, Field Mouse, House Mouse, Rat, Otter, Shrew, Mole, Pine Marten Human occupation: It is evident from archaeological finds that the area has been inhabited for over 5000 years. At Birkwood on the south side of the Dee, Neolithic ‘pygmy flints’  were discovered in the 1920s. These miniature flint tools showed a high level or working. It was often questioned why the items were so small and if this was a reflection on the people who made the flint. The most probably answer is that flint was in short supply, the nearest natural occurrence being in the Peterhead area where glacial scouring of southbound ice movement transported small flint nodules from an offshore Cretaceous submarine chalk outcrop onshore and deposited it in moranic till deposits. Unlike the flint nodules of SE England, this Aberdeenshire flint was very small in size and hence the limit on flint tool sizes. Two significant archaeological sites have been excavated in the Crathes area. One is at Balbridie on the south side of the Dee, almost opposite Crathes Castle. Here a large wooden structure was investigated. It was built using large vertical posts and is apparently one of the largest, earliest buildings to have been discovered to date. It is thought to have been a communal dwelling dating from late neolithic or Bronze age times. The other site is in the Warren Field at Crathes Castle on the right of the main entrance drive. Aerial photography of the area in the 1970s had shown a crop growth anomaly and this location was eventually excavated around 2008. Again a wooden construction was identified along with numerous post-holes. There are no known stone circles in the Crathes area although there are remains of at least two in Durris nearby and also at Garlogie. The Romans are known to have had an encampment at Raedykes just west of Peterculter. It was one of a chain of such fortified encampments stretching up the east cost of Scotland. Other contigous ones of a day’s march being at Riccarton west of Stonehaven and just south of Kintore. The Roman occupation in NE scotland is said to have lasted around 200 years. There is no known evidence of Roman remains in Crathes. The arrival of St Colomba’s missionaries on Deeside in the 5th century was based in and around the current location of Banchory. And again, there is no direct evidence remaining in Crathes of this period Prior to the 1300s few written records mention or pertain to Crathes. It would appear that the area was classified as the deer forest of Drum. In 1326 the lands of Crathes were given to the Burnett of Leys family by King Robert the Bruce in recognition of service and loyalty. The Burnetts have subsequently held unbroken title since that time. And so it was that the lands and people of Crathes became inseparably intertwinded with the Burnett  family. On the lands to the north of the village of Banchory, there lay a stretch of shallow water known as the Loch of Banchory or the Loch of Leys. In the center of the loch was a crannog (artificial island), which had been a place of refuge for centuries. For the first 200 years of the Burnetts’ residence in the area, this crannog provided the site for the family’s principal stronghold. The loch is now drained and nothing remains but the island mound. The crannog may be deserted but the memory of the Burnetts’ first home is kept alive in the traditional Scots territorial designation of the head of the family as "Burnett of Leys". The crannog provided the Burnetts with security, and since the family was not politically ambitious, life was peaceful on the Loch of Leys.  However in In 1560 Alexander Burnett and his wife Janet decided that a better home was needed for their family, so the building of Crathes Castle began. Construction took over 40 years. Few major or significant events took place over the coming centuries, the main one was the battle of Corriechie which took place just north of Hattonburn on the slopes of the Hill of Fare in 1562. It was fought between the forces of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, chief of Clan Gordon against forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots under James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray. The Queen’s forces won the battle and a commemorative stone (erected in 1952) marks a location not far from the site of the battle on the Raemoir Road. Farms: The Ley Drumfrennie Hattonburn Newmill Myrebird Minklets Milton Candieshill Candygierlach Todholes Uppermills Nethermills Baldarroch The Bush Hirn Doualty Damhead Coy Harestone Rashenlochy Kilduthie Wicker Inn About Crathes