Daniel MacCannell

The region north of Aberdeen and east of Moray is difficult to define. Neither highland or lowland, depopulated or populous, it is a land of surprising contrasts.In this book Daniel MacCannell uncovers many aspects of lost Banff and Buchan. In addition to buildings, transport networks, industries, and ways of life which now no longer exist, from whaling to open-air market trading, he also considers other elements which have been forgotten over time. There are lost people - those whose lives have been of enormous significance but are now forgotten - such as the member of the Barclay family who became a Russian field marshal and architect of the ''scorched earth'' strategy used against Napoleon in 1812, and the pilots of the Banff Strike Wing who fought valiantly against the German Navy during World War II. There is also the lost University of Fraserburgh, founded in 1595 but defunct by 1605; the village of Burnhaven, destroyed to make room for Peterhead Prison; and a lost literary master - the Turriff man who wrote Argenis, arguably the first novel ever written by a British person.The book also offers a new take on the history of smuggling in the area - of whisky from Cabrach down North Donside to Aberdeen, as well as of brandy and a surprisingly wide range of other commodities. The result is a compelling and imaginative journey into the past, packed with anecdote, fact and fascinating characters.

Deeside, the southern border of the Northeast shires of Aberdeen and Banff, is very much frontier country – its lonely passes through a barely penetrable mountain range were of massive strategic importance for centuries. The legions of Emperor Septimus Severus came in by Elsick Mounth in the early third century ad, and the B974 Fettercairn–Banchory road marks the way taken by Edward I’s army as it withdrew from the North-east in 1296, as well as the route Macbeth took to his doom two and a half centuries before.In this book, Daniel MacCannell looks at the rich and varied lost legacy of this haunting part of Scotland, from castles, houses, and whole villages to hospitals, illicit stills and even a number of lochs. In addition to tangible things, he also considers much else that has been ‘lost’ from the history, landscape and collective memory of the area – such as forgotten astronomers, inventors, roisterers and rebels; the local Gaelic of the area which has now died out; the wolf, which lived freely there until the 1680s; and the ways of life of past generations of Deeside people. The result is a vivid and stimulating insight into the way Deeside has changed over many hundreds of years.