Crawton is a former fishing community on the southeast

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

coast in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, deserted since 1927. Approximately three miles south of

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...

, Crawton Farm () lies to the north of

Catterline Catterline is a coastal village on the North Sea in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is situated about south of Stonehaven; nearby to the north are Dunnottar Castle and Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve. Other noted architectural or historic features in the ...

above a

shingle beach A shingle beach (also referred to as rocky beach or pebble beach) is a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles (as opposed to fine sand). Typically, the stone composition may grade from characteristic sizes ranging ...

. The

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of 23 houses and a school are all that survive of the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

on the clifftop. In its heyday, 30 Crawton men fished 12 boats and the village had its own fish merchant. Following nearly 50 years of decline due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

, Crawton was finally deserted by its last inhabitant in 1927. Crawton is adjacent to the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Fowlsheugh Fowlsheugh is a coastal nature reserve in Kincardineshire, northeast Scotland, known for its cliff formations and habitat supporting prolific seabird nesting colonies. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Scottish Natur ...

, which is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Noted architectural or historic features in the general area include

Dunnottar Castle Dunnottar Castle ( gd, Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope") is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-eastern coast of Scotland, about south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 1 ...

Fiddes Castle The Castle of Fiddes is a 16th-century tower house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, located around south-west of Stonehaven. It is dated 1592 on a window lintel, with a later date of 1673 on the east wall suggesting a renovation at this time. It was t ...

Fetteresso Castle Fetteresso Castle is a 14th-century tower house, rebuilt in 1761 as a Scottish Gothic style Palladian manor, with clear evidence of prehistoric use of the site. It is situated immediately west of the town of Stonehaven in Kincardineshire, slightl ...

, Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan and

Muchalls Castle Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well-preserved Romanesque, double-groined 13th-century tower house structure, built by the Frasers of ...

. Crawton is known for its geological diversity and is a popular site for both university and school field trips. It is a tradition to perform a mini-bus quiz on the journey to Crawton, started by the

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Ian Rae.

Vicinity prehistory

Prehistorical features in the vicinity include

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

recoveries at Fetteresso, Dunnottar and

Spurryhillock Spurryhillock is a mesolithic archaeological site and modern industrial estate at Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The area is bordered on its southern edge by the Dundee–Aberdeen line, and on its western edge by the A90. A bus depot is ...

Notes

Geography of Aberdeenshire Former populated places in Scotland History of Aberdeenshire {{Aberdeenshire-geo-stub

Vicinity prehistory

See also

Notes