Top 7 Cemeteries in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Reviewed By CriticalMission - Aberdeen, United Kingdom

I can't believe this wonderful (if small) site maintained by Aberdeenshire Council hasn't hit the TripAdvisor crowd before me. It's an absolute gem. Near the Loch of Strathbeg, the original chapel was built by the Earl of Buchan in the 13th Century and if it hadn't been for the demise of Crimmond's port due to the shifting sand dunes that cut off their landing port, I suspect this little chapel and it's graveyard would still be running and interring folk. The plaque tells all you need to know, and it's quite a story. Seems that the area was granted royal status as a Burgh, not because it was a thriving metropolis - no oor Queen Mary was shiftier than that! Two warring families wanted to "own" the area and making it a royal Burgh meant the Crown got all the land and taxes. People? Living there you mean? What have the existence of peasants got to do with the fortunes of the nobility? The graveyard is a perfect place to remind yourself that it all ends one day, especially on a dark, windy, forbidding Scottish autumn day. There are nifty stone steps built into the wall both sides to get you in (ok there is a wrought iron gate too, but what fun is that?). Best part made me laugh out loud. On the ruin walls of the chapel is a granite stone saying 1901. It also says it has no meaning and no one knows what on earth it's doing there! Only in Scotland eh?