We are always delighted to help you
to get the most from your holiday and can advise you
on local places of interest and help with your plans
for the day ahead.
We will do our best to meet any other requests you
may have which could make your holiday at Denhead
Steading one to remember.
Whether you are looking for outdoor
activities or somewhere to get away from it all, come
and explore the stunning scenery of this unique and
remote corner of Scotland.
Now a little about where we are...
The origin
of the name Ythan
The origin of the name Ythan is unclear
but may be derived from the gaelic word ‘Athan’ meaning
Ford suggesting a fordable river. Reference to a river
called ‘Ituna’ is made in some old reports relating
to the times of the Roman presence in the area approximately
220AD.
The river Ythan originates from a
convergence of small burns in the vicinity of Ythanwells
near Auchterless at approximately 800ft above sea
level. The river is approximately 63 kilometres (39
miles) long running through the villages of Fyvie
and Methlick and the town of Ellon to reach the sea
at Newburgh some 12 miles north of Aberdeen.
The Aberdeen Press and Journal of
1760 declared ‘On 7th August 1760 a record catch was
landed at Newburgh from the river Ythan’. 250 salmon
from one haul of the net, all of which (except 10)
weighed upwards of 30lbs. From the same river in July
1755 a mammoth fish was landed measuring 4’4” x 27”
and scaling almost 70lbs. At that time it was customary
for farm servants being engaged for work to stipulate
that salmon would not be served more than 3 times
a week!
 |
Click on image above
for larger version |
Logie Newton
Round Stone
There are few kerb cairns so striking
or so dramatically unreal as this Buchan Group.
The three small, unearthly, rings
of quartzite blocks that glisten in the sleet and
sparkle in the sun high on the south facing shoulder
of Kirk Hill represent two trends in the burial and
ritual monuments of the North-east that run back over
1500 years.
The first, seen here in the diameters
of the rings of between 6 and 7 m, is the gradual
reduction in the size of the feature (compare the
great single ring cairn at Loanhead 13).
The second is the use of quartzite,
a notable characteristic of the earlier recumbent
stone circles and Clava Cairns, at Logie Newton translated
into hefty blocks up to 1.3 m in length.
Kerb cairns are often found in groups,
as here, and their kerbstones are frequently disproportionately
large when compared with the flat interiors of the
cairns.
There are few, however, so striking
or so dramatically unreal as this Buchan Group.
Directions
- 8 miles E of Huntly
- Grid ref: NJ 659 391 - Ordnance Survey Landranger
Series sheet no.29
8 miles E of Huntly; on side road
between B9001 and Wells of Ythan. Walk up hill for
c 1/2 mile, along field boundaries from Logie Newton
Farm.
Temporary
Roman Army Marching Camps |
|
|
|
DESCRIPTION |
Ythanwells
Camp 1, Glenmailen |
N.G.REF |
NJ655383 |
This
large rhomboid camp was discovered in 1785
or 1786 by Shand. The north and south angles
are obtuse, the east and west both acute;
none of them are equal. The sides, given clockwise
starting at north measure 1,711, 2,529, 1,934
& 2,790 feet. There are two gates in the
long north-west side and another in the shorter
south-west side, any gates in the other two
sides are undiscernable. This "120-acre" camp
has a ditch of typical Roman military profile
11¼ feet wide and 4 feet deep, cut into the
gravel which overlies the mudstone geology
of this area. There are similarly sized camps
at Raedykes, Normandykes, Kintore and Muiryfold. |
|
|
|
DIMENSIONS |
c.2,660
x c.1,822 ft
(c.810 x c.555 m) |
|
|
|
AREA |
c.111
acres (c.44.9 ha) |
Ythanwells
Camp 2 |
N.G.REF |
NJ661385 |
The entire W side, a long
stretch of the N and several hundred feet
of the S side have been recorded, and from
these the outline of the entire camp maybe
extrapolated, which enclosed an area of around
26 acres. Discovered in the summer of 1968
and excavated in September the same year,
the ditches of this camp were only 4ft wide
and 2ft deep, and were not back-filled when
the second (larger) camp was built, because
a period of time had elapsed sufficient for
the original defences to have become almost
entirely silted-up, making the task of filling
them in unneccessary. This "33-acre" camp
may be dated by its Stracathro-type gateways
to the campaigns of Agricola. There is a similarly
sized camp about 14½ miles (23.7km) to the
north-west at Auchinhove. |
|
|
|
DIMENSIONS |
1,450
x 1,050 ft
(442 x 320 m) |
|
|
|
AREA |
c.35
acres (c.14.1 ha) |
| |
|
|
|
See:
Topography of Roman Scotland North
of the Antonine Wall by O.G.S.
Crawford (Cambridge 1949) pp.116-120
& fig.31;
Air Reconnaissance of North Britain
by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S.
xli (1951) p.65;
Air Reconnaissance in Britain, 1955-7
by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S.
xlviii (1958) p.93;
Air Reconnaissance in Britain, 1965-1968
by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S. lix (1969) pp.112-13
& fig.3;
Air Reconnaissance in Britain, 1969-72
by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S.
lxiii (1973) p.226;
Air Reconnaissance in Britain, 1973-76
by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S. lxvii (1977) p.143;
Britannia ix (1978) pp.277-278. |
Ancient
Dreams
: The Wells Of Ythan
Legend tells of the fall of Ythan,
when a Princess, sole heir to the kingdom, disappeared;
it tells of how she now lies bewitched in a deep trance,
in an enchanted palace hidden in the depths of an
unknown wilderness.
When she vanished, the Golden Age crumbled and evil
corruption beset the once-mighty empire. Dark rulers
came into power and fear settled stealthily into every
distant corner of the klingdom.
Now the power of the rapacious Regent has grown so
great that Ythan groans aloud under the burden of
terror. Ravaging hordes harry the countryside; black
deeds and secret sorceried send even the wicked scurrying
for cover.
The only hope of salvation lies in the hands of an
apprentice toymaker, a spoiled young nobleman, a court
jester and a motley crew drawn together by an unknown
power.
Together they must quest fot the mythical Princess
- or Ythan will perish beneath the yoke...
Paperback Version
Year of Publish: 1988
Publishers: Headline
ISBN: 0747230250
