Newtonhill is a commuter town in

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

, Scotland. It is popular due to its location, just six miles south of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

with easy reach 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 ...

and with views over the North Sea.

History

The town was originally called Skateraw. Skateraw was a fishing village, and the older part of the village(Still called Skateraw) between the railway line and the sea reflects that heritage though nearly all of the old houses have been modernised and extended. An old smoke house is still visible in Skateraw Road, though it is many years since it was in use. The village had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

which led to the change of name from Skateraw to Newtonhill but it was closed in 1956; the signal box was still in use until May 2019 and remnants of a platform can still be seen. A feasibility study received funding in May 2018 to study the possible reopening of the station. Newtonhill is in Kincardineshire, though local government re-organisation means that the local authority is

Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area includ ...

. The town is situated about half a mile east of the ancient

Causey Mounth The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continu ...

road, which was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points north to

. This ancient passage specifically connected the

Bridge of Dee The Bridge of Dee or Brig o Dee ( gd, Drochaid Dhè) is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527,Richards, J.M., ''The National Trust Book of Bridges ...

via

Portlethen Moss The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve located to the west of the town of Portlethen, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Like other Bog, mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subjec ...

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 ...

and

to the south. The route was that taken by

William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal (16101670 or 1671) was a Scottish nobleman and Covenanter. He was the eldest son of William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal. Life During the English Civil War, the 7th Earl Marischal joined James Graham, 1st Marques ...

and the

Duke of Montrose Duke of Montrose (named for Montrose, Angus) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created anew in 1707, for James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, great-grandson of famed James Graham, 1st Marquess ...

when they led a

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

army of 9000 men in the first battle of the First Bishop's War in 1639.

Transport links

Newtonhill today is accessed by the

A92 road The A92 is a major road that runs through Fife, Dundee, Angus, Aberdeenshire, and Aberdeen City in Scotland. From south to north, it runs from Dunfermline to Blackdog, just north of Aberdeen. History The A92's original route in southern Fife i ...

and functions primarily as a commuter town to

and other business hubs in the area. The town is also well served by buses run by

Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom. History Stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the British express coach market in the early ...

providing regular services to

and Montrose. There are proposals to reopen

Newtonhill railway station Newtonhill railway station served the town of Newtonhill in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom from its opening in 1851 to its closure in 1956. Newtonhill signal box continued to operate until 2019. There have been several calls for this ...

, on the main line to Aberdeen, which closed in 1956. On 14 December 2015 the "park and choose" was opened to the west of the A92. It is served by the

X7 Coastrider The X7 Coastrider is an hourly bus route between Perth and Aberdeen via Dundee operated by Stagecoach East Scotland. The service runs seven days per week. History The route was introduced on 12 September 2011 and was initially operated by a fl ...

service. The facility, which also serves the nearby village of Chapelton, allowed two bus stops at the side of the A92 to be removed.

Community and amenities

Newtonhill has a successful

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception ...

chess team which has won the Scottish tournament many times and have won the British grand finals the most out of all British teams. There is an active community spirit in Newtonhill and many events are organised through the

Newtonhill and District Village Association, with wider planning issues being discussed by the Community Council. There are three commercial outlets; A

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Metro Store, a coffee shop - Skateraw Store and a pharmacy, which also hosts a weekly post office. There are two pubs in the town, Quoiters and The Newton Arms. A community hall was built in the 1980s. Due to a demand for more space, it was expanded and renamed the Bettridge Centre in 2003. The Centre is run by elected local residents. Beside this centre is Newtonhill Library. There is also the Skateraw Hall, originally provided for the residents when Newtonhill was a fishing village. Newtonhill Primary School serves the town and surrounding hamlets of

Muchalls Muchalls is a small coastal ex-fishing village in Kincardineshire, Scotland, south of Newtonhill and north of Stonehaven. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls. At the western edge of Muchalls is ...

and

Cammachmore Cammachmore (Gaelic ''An Camach Mòr'') is a hamlet in the coastal region near the North Sea in Aberdeenshire. It lies slightly west of the A92 road and the ancient Causey Mounth passes through the community. Historic Elsick House is situated ...

. It opened in April 1969 and had an initial roll of 144 pupils. It replaced Cairnhill and Cookney schools.

Geography

Newtonhill is located on the North-East coast of Scotland, approximately 9 miles south of

and 6 miles north of

. The

Burn of Elsick The Burn of Elsick is a coastal stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea. This watercourse drains primarily agricultural lands and enters the North Sea at Newtonhill. History The Burn of Elsick flows under the Causey M ...

, which drains agricultural lands from the west, flows into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

at Newtonhill. The White Wife is a rock formation which allows sea angling. Newtonhill also has a great scenic views of the cliffs looking on to the pebble shore, where fishing still a custom to many.

References

{{Authority control Towns in Aberdeenshire

History

Transport links

Community and amenities

Geography

See also

References