SCO-068-Muir of Alford-Breda-River Don CircuitAlison Mackenzie - CommunityhikingTourTrailSCO-068-Muir of Alford-Breda-River Don CircuitAn easy rural ramble with very limited ascent. The highlights on the route are – the river path along the scenic valley of the River Don and the wider vistas to the Bennachie and Menaway Hills from the mid-point at Auchintoul Farm. As ever, some historical interest too! / Duration: 2 hours.hikingTourTrail154.50497(1) Start walk at the Auld West Church *Note: the Auld West Kirk near Muir of Alford on the A980 road is no longer used as a church. It is believed that there has been a place of Christian worship on this site since the late 12th C. The church was dedicated to St Andrew, and was given by Gillechrist, Earl of Mar, to the Priory of Monymusk. The present church was built in 1804. In the graveyard there are some interesting old stones from the 17th and 18th C, although most are from the 19th. The graves of early botanist John Duncan, and Alford-born poet Charles Murray are here. On the western exterior there are several good wall monuments including an armorial to George Melville (1678), and the Forbes of Balfluig mural monument (1725?). ]]>1154.04898153.97463153.9068153.56582153.11115152.9981153.65609153.62255153.68063154.39603154.38359154.48898152.23166152.23166(2) Take a right turn off main roadAfter 350 m (including church-yard), take a right turn off the main road past a house on your left. Within 50 m, or less, turn left to follow a lane that then joins a minor tarred access road. (350 m)2inputWayPoint152.25468152.15538153.22414153.72683153.93711154.27305154.95889154.95889(3) Go right down the Breda access roadIn another 400 m, go right down one of the access roads to Breda House, soon passing modern houses to right and left. (744 m)3inputWayPoint155.04819155.06362154.3283153.50265152.9589153.06958153.25607153.29456153.49298153.55917153.55917(4) Veer left into trees away from Breda House *Note: Breda House is a red granite mansion in the Scots baronial style which is dominated by a three-storey main block with a circular conical-roofed tower. It was built in 1894, designed by the notable Aberdeen architect, Marshall Mackenzie, and was used as an auxiliary hospital in the First World War.
**Note: the Breda Mausoleum was built in 1831. This slab roofed single storey edifice was built for Andrew Farquharson, Laird of the Breda estate.]]>4inputWayPoint153.12394151.17102148.08765147.6716146.804146.61792146.70635146.92024146.83667146.84444146.84444(5) Carry on along field vergeAfter 300 m, or so, the hard-surfaced old road going part way around Breda House gives way to a rougher and grassier field access road. Keep going towards the trees ahead and follow the rough road as it swings left into the belt of trees. (1.5 km)waypointFlagComb18142.88262142.49698141.97064141.59617141.12928141.04239141.17959141.37705141.47146141.50734141.57988141.57988(6) Go left onto path through trees towards riverIn 300 m, just before the rough road emerges out of the belt of trees at a field, go left onto a narrow path through the trees, walking toward the River Don. When the path emerges out of the trees, turn right to soon reach the riverside path. (1.8 km)waypointFlagComb18142.06586142.21871142.14196142.16002142.59136142.8706142.8477143.13427144.20539144.20539(7) Take path going west alongside the River Don *Note: this is a particularly scenic section along the River Don, where the heather-topped Lord Arthur’s Hill dominates on the north side of the river, and the (largely) forested mass of Coiliochbar Hill on the south, rising above Breda Hill directly ahead of you. ]]>7inputWayPoint145.41343146.29996146.99291147.27652146.28706148.51784149.92386150.27639150.27639(8) Carry on walking by the riversidewaypointFlagComb17150.24267149.06738149.2541152.13107153.31899153.60345155.99569157.68614161.07952167.02879169.6485172.03819164.62779172.33135172.47818172.47818(9) Pass barrier then turn left - then sharp left onto grassy trackwaypointFlagComb15169.57115172.8698176.21132178.07946178.54317180.33324183.50658185.02243186.64801188.16769190.51032191.6022193.17687193.28897191.74846187.65725180.25338179.02323175.10772168.63944160.75841163.85508163.77695164.16725165.42002170.33102159.30395158.16706155.24918153.50417153.79151152.09948152.18867151.96359154.68484154.86783149.3149.3(10) Finish walk back at the Auld West KirkAfter 2.5 km from Auchintoul Farm you will have arrived back at your start-point at the Auld West Kirk. (6.0 km)10routingNode15148.6148.4147.7145.4145.2146.8148.1148.1148.0147.9147.8148.6149.4150.0150.0149.8150.157.233715,-2.74579615