Kincardineshire being on
the direct route between the north and the south of Scotland, the
earliest of the main roads in the county were avenues, running generally
north and south, and leading to the Highlands and Lowlands. Where much
of the land was ill-drained and boggy, the making of suitable roads was
often a difficult and tedious matter. The high roads, being the dry
roads, had perforce at first to be followed, while the straight line as
the shortest distance between any two given points was, where
practicable, preferred. Until well after the Union of 1707, the roads in
Kincardineshire were, as elsewhere in the north of Scotland, in a very
neglected state. Where wheeled vehicles were non-existent or few, wide,
well-made roads were of little consequence. Bridle paths sufficed for
the needs of the pack-horse that plodded along by ways none too safe by
day or night.
The Roman road from Tay to Dee is undoubtedly the oldest, and its course
can be generally traced in the line of the Roman camps, usually a day’s
march apart. Starting probably at Ardoch in Perthshire, and continued
through the northern district of Forfarshire, it entered the county at
Kingsford (a modern name) in a north-easterly direction between the
parishes of Marykirk and Fettercairn ; whence the route was direct to
the camp at the Mains of Fordoun. From this it was continued to the camp
at Raedykes near Stonehaven, and thence to Normandykes, Peterculter,.
where it crossed the Dee. At Marykirk a short branch, probably not,
however, a Roman road, struck to the left, leading to the royal palace
of Kincardine. From that point it was continued to the pass of Cairn O’
Mount, which in later days echoed, not to the tramp of the Roman
legions, but to the tread of the red-coated regiments of the second King
George, under that renowned road-maker General Wade, the last of whose
military roads this was. From the Roman road, or its successors,
numerous cross-roads struck off on each side leading to hill and sea.
The hill roads were utilised by the Highland drovers on their way to the
great annual trysts and fairs south of the Grampians, while the roads
that led from the numerous small shipping ports were convenient for
transporting either coal or lime, jnto the interior.
For the first three-quarters of the last century the roads were divided
into two classes—the turnpike or toll, and the statute labour roads. The
former were originally made by subscription, and partly upheld by tolls,
while the latter were made and upheld from highway and bridge moneys
paid by heritors and others. When the Roads and Bridges Act of 1879 came
into force, a road rate was imposed on all householders ; and since then
a gradual improvement has been effected on the roads so that they are
now, as a rule, very suitable for the needs of modern travelling.
The main road through the county leads from Brechin by North Water
Bridge, west of Marykirk, to Laurencekirk, Fordoun, Stonehaven, and
Aberdeen. This is the main route for traffic from Edinburgh, through
Strathmore and the Howe of the Mearns. A parallel road to this, but
running along the base of the hills, passes through Fettercaim and the
beautiful Glen of Drumtochty, thence through Fordoun, Glenbervie, and
Fetteresso parishes to Stonehaven, where it joins the Great North Road.
From Montrose a splendid turnpike road runs close to the coast through
St Cyrus, Bervie, and Stonehaven, where it also meets the main road.
These three parallel roads are connected by numerous cross-roads, which
give free access to all parts of the county. One of the best roads in
the county is that along the south side of the Dee from Aberdeen to
Maryculter, Durris, Banchory, and Strachan. From the coast various
cross-roads connect with this road—the well-known “Slug” road from
Stonehaven going through Rickarton and Durris to Banchory ; another
through Cookney, Netherley, and Maryculter to the Dee valley ; and a
third from Portlethen through Fetteresso, Maryculter, Durris, and
Strachan.
The county has no canals, though towards the end of the eighteenth
century there was much talk of constructing one through the Howe of the
Mearns and Strathmore to the Tay. The general opinion on this is pithily
summed up by Robertson {Agricultural Survey) : “ There seems, in fact,
to be very little to urge against the practicability of the thing, and
nothing perhaps against its expediency, but that it would be of no use.
Nobody would think of conveying goods 40 or 50 miles by water who had it
in his power to bring them directly to market by an easy land carriage,
of less than the fourth part of the distance and time.”
The railways in the county run practically parallel and contiguous to
the main roads. They belong to three railway companies—the Caledonian,
the North British, and the Great North of Scotland. The northern section
of the Caledonian, first called the Aberdeen, and afterwards the
Scottish North-Eastern, was opened throughout in 1850. It enters the
county by a viaduct of thirteen spans over the North Esk near Marykirk
Station, and running northward past Laurencekirk, Fordoun, and
Drumlithie, where the highest point on the section is, reaches through
heavy cuttings the sea at Stonehaven, after which it follows the coast
to Aberdeen. A section of the North British Railway, about 14 miles
long, runs from Montrose along the sea to Bervie, at present the
terminus, although proposals have been made to connect it with
Stonehaven by a light railway. From Kinnaber Junction, two miles north
of Montrose, where the North British and Caledonian main lines connect,
the former company possesses certain running powers over the Caledonian
system to Aberdeen. The Deeside railway, owned by the Great North of
Scotland Company, runs from Aberdeen along the north side of the Dee. It
enters the county near Crathes Station, 14 miles from Aberdeen, and
leaves it close to Glassel Station.
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