IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Corse, HUNTLY, AB54 6HP

White cottages by the burn which originally was forded. Behind is the Hawk Hill Plantation with its just visible monument.

The cottages are close to the burn near Templeland, and the name points to there having been a ford. There is a garage business at the far end of the row. On Haw Hill above is Image

Viewed from the north-east.

This rather grim-looking kirk serves the united parishes of Forgue and Inverkeithny, including Ythan wells, which was disjoined from Forgue and Auchterless in 1864. Originally a Free Kirk, it came into the Church of Scotland in 1929 when many Free Kirk congregations were reunited with that denomination. There followed a series of amalgamations as congregations dwindled, and the kirks and manses of Ythanwells, Forgue and Inverkeithny were sold off. The kirk is not a listed building and the architect is unknown. Compare with Image], taken over eight years earlier. The door has been re-painted, but the dreary grey harling looks as grubby as it did then.

Not a football team but the Auchaber United Church of Scotland kirk.

The house is a Category B Listed building, and dates from the mid-18th century. This is the north-west wing, which is not quite as old as the south part of the house. It was the property of Colonel Alexander Shand (1731-1803), who is commemorated on the Image On his death it passed to his son, Alexander Shand of Conland (1757-1837), noted agricultural improver and bon viveur, who became known as the 'King of Forgue.

Unlike Image] next door, the manse, built in 1847 by J and W Smith for the Free Kirk, is a Category C Listed building. Its unadorned lines, reminiscent of 18th century buildings, are appropriately plain as befits a Free Kirk manse.

This was the home of Colonel Alexander Shand (1731-1803) whose story is told on Image

After an overcast afternoon, the sun has emerged to illuminate these houses near Aucharnie, which are not named on the maps.

The inscription on the right-hand panel reads, "The Merits and Character of Colonel Shand may be sufficiently traced in the History of his Life. Entering into the world destitute of Friends, of Fortune and of Influence, he quitted it rich in the possession of them all. His Perception was clear, his Judgment sound, his Informations extensive, his Courage calm and his Integrity spotless. The Toils of his early Years and the Perils that marked the Meridian of his Life were rewarded at its Close by an honourable Competence and the Recollection of a Life devoted to his King and his Country. In his Death he has bequeathed this useful Lesson to Posterity, that the most formidable Obstacles disappear before Vigour and Perseverance; and that, in this Land of genuine Freedom, the highest Stations are equally accessible to Talents and to Virtue as to Riches and high Descent." See also Image The monument is a Category B Listed building.