Skene (

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

: ''Sgainn'') is a small farming community in North East

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

some 6 mi west of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. The two traditional villages are Kirkton of Skene and Lyne of Skene. As the name suggests, Kirkton is still the location of

Skene Parish Church Kingshill Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland in Skene, part of the Presbytery of North East and Northern Isles. The parish has two places of worship, Skene Church in Kirkton of Skene and Trinity Church in Westhill. The ...

. ''Lyne'' means 'glade' or 'enclosure'. Kirkton of Skene consists of a main road that runs through its centre that branches off into a small warren of 5 or so streets that service just under 100 houses, a pub - The Red Star Inn, a big playpark, a village hall, the church and "Bothy 57" the local cafe. The main concentration of population in the area is further east at the newer settlements of Westhill and

Elrick Elrick () is a small village on the A944 road west of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. The name derives from a Gaelic word meaning a place where deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (in ...

, both of which are built around ancient hamlets. Nearby are the

Loch of Skene Loch of Skene is a large lowland, freshwater loch in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies approximately to the west of the village of Kirkton of Skene and west of Aberdeen. The loch is partially man-made, being dammed at its outflow on the southe ...

and Skene House. In the 16th and 17th century the local Laird, Alexander Skene, was known as the "Wizard of Skene", and is the subject of legend and folklore in the local area. He is buried in Skene Churchyard.https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/wizard-lairds-dance-devil-2463535?amp - The Scotsman - Wizard Laird's dance with the devil

References

;Map references *Kirkton of Skene: *Lyne of Skene:

External links

Skene Heritage Society
;Gazetteer for Scotland

Villages in Aberdeenshire {{Aberdeenshire-geo-stub