Kincardineshire

Kincardineshire is a small traditional county on the east coast of Scotland. It is perhaps one of the least memorable of the northern counties, having had no council since 1975, and now mostly falling under the control of Aberdeenshire Council. It also doesn't take its name from the county town (Stonehaven), but instead from a place called Kincardine, which effectively ceased to exist in the middle ages.

Geography & Economy

The A92 enters the county from Angus

The county has a wide, fertile coastal strip which includes most of the towns and villages, lying scattered amongst the farmland. The rich farmland of the Mearns, surrounding Laurencekirk, is separated from the coast by low hills and is the setting of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic novel Sunset Song. The northern county border follows the River Dee out of Aberdeen, meaning that a significant part of the city falls in Kincardineshire. The town of Banchory, which lies on the north bank of the river, is also in the county, and is one of its larger towns. The interior of the county is hillier and sparsely populated, with forestry and grouse moors covering many of the slopes.

Stonehaven has long been an important fishing port, but its proximity to Aberdeen has meant that in recent years it has been swept up in the North Sea oil boom. Banchory too is in the commuter belt, although it has a somewhat more genteel air, having originally gained favour by being on 'Royal Deeside', so loved by Queen Victoria. The fortunes of the county, with the recent problems in the oil industry, are now uncertain, but the older industries that have survived, farming and tourism should help maintain much of the prosperity.

Roads

Cairn o'Mount blocked by snow

Most of the road network lies along the coastal zone or Deeside, where a good network of B and unclassified roads exist, supporting the main A90, A92 and A93 routes. In the upland west of the county, there is essentially just the one road, the B974 Cairn o'Mount route which is an old military road crossing the hills from Fettercairn to Deeside.

Most non-trunk roads within the traditional county are maintained by Aberdeenshire Council, although the urban area south of Aberdeen falls under Aberdeen Council. The trunk routes in the county are the A90, the A92 between Stonehaven and its junction with the A956, and the part of the A956 linking these other two. All are managed by Transport Scotland. Construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route within the county was competed in 2018, and the A90 was rerouted onto it. A link from it to the southern fringes of Aberdeen became an extended A956. The previous A90 along the coast reverted to its earlier number of A92,

Route	From	To	Length
A90	Edinburgh	Fraserburgh	146 miles	View
A92	Dunfermline	Blackdog	111 miles	View
A93	Perth	Aberdeen	108.3 miles	View
A937	Laurencekirk	Montrose	9.9 miles	View
A943	Aberdeen	Banchory	16.6 miles	View
A956	Cleanhill	Bridge of Don	11.2 miles	View
A957	Glasslaw Bridge	Crathes	14.848 miles	View
A980	Banchory	Alford	20.6 miles	View
B966	Brechin	Fordoun	18.7 miles	View
B967	Fordoun	Inverbervie	5.995 miles	View
B974	Marykirk	Banchory	22.861 miles	View
B976	Strachan	Gairnshiel Lodge	35.801 miles	View
B976	Banchory	Alford	20.6 miles	View
B977	Raemoir House	Rashiereve	32.2 miles	View
B978	Stonehaven	Banchory	13.9 miles	View
B979	Stonehaven	Belscamphie	34.0 miles	View
B981	Maryculter Bridge	Milltimber	0.8 miles	View
B982	Marywell	Aberdeen	4.3 miles	View
B9077	Aberdeen	Crathes	13.7 miles	View
B9120	Fettercairn	Lauriston, nr St Cyrus	9.4 miles	View
C15K	Inverbervie	Lauriston	8.6 miles	View
C31K	Cutties Wood	Glacks Hill	3.8 miles	View
T30	Perth	Inverness		View

Key

Motorway

Primary Route

Non Primary Route

Former Motorway

Defunct Route

E Road

Future Motorway

Future Primary

Future Non Primary

Historical Route

Tourist Route

Roman Road

Unbuilt Motorway

Unbuilt Primary

Unbuilt Non Primary

National Cycle Network

Cycle Route

Eurovelo Cycle Route

Junctions

Main Article: Junctions in Kincardineshire

Bridges, Tunnels, and other Crossings

Main Article: Crossings in Kincardineshire