Building record MAB42895 - ELSICK MOUNTH ROAD

Former drove road through the foothills of the Cairngorms which connects Drumoak at the River Dee with Stonehaven.

Former drove road through the foothills of the Cairngorms which connects Drumoak at the River Dee with Stonehaven. It is suggested to have been in use in the pre-Roman period, and used by the Romans as a route between the marching camps at Raedykes near the southern end of the road and Normandykes along the River Dee. The Elsick Mounth was later one of the many important drove roads of northern Scotland, to take cattle to markets at Auchenblae, and further south to Crieff and Falkirk. It is shown on Roy's map of 1755, and was clearly in use in the 18th century. Part of the route remains in use as a road, the rest as tracks and paths. Site visit to a section of the road in July 2014 as part of a walkover survey carried out by Headland Archaeology (NO79SE0050): this section survives as a track, clearer in the southeast but becoming more overgrown as it approaches Bawdy Craig.

PERDERSON, N, 2011, ELSICK MOUNTH: ALONG AN ANCIENT DROVE ROAD. IN LEOPARD MAGAZINE JUNE 2011 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1484.

ESB ASSET DEVELOPMENT LIMITED, 2018, CRAIGNEIL WIND FARM, ABERDEENSHIRE: ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT, HA9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB501.

Record last edited

Jul 7 2025 3:37PM