Our Community
Maryculter is a small Parish that consists of many homes and farms that are communally located around the Church and the Kirkton. We are a very close knit Community.
We are also a thriving Community, that consists of people who have lived here their entire lives, and those who have recently moved to the area. This Community is thriving through the considered planned small scale developments that honour and respect the environmental sensitivity of the area.
Maryculter organises many activities for it younger Community; there is a Maryculter Beaver Group which caters for boys age 6-8, and Maryculter Scouts group which caters for ages 10.5-13. The 1st Maryculter Rainbows, for girls aged between 5-7, meet every Thursday,
and 1st Maryculter Guides meet on Tuesday nights.
Maryculter Playgroup celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2004. The group meets every weekday in term time at Maryculter Community Hall, adjacent to the Old Mill Inn. The Playgroup recently fundraised and built a safe outdoor play area. There are obvious concerns for the safety and well being for our young children, related to the traffic and increased pollution owing to the proximity of a new major trunk road.
A Babies and Toddlers group meets every Thursday morning during term-time in the Church at Kirkton of Maryculter. It is open to all parents/caregivers with children under the age of 3. Expectant mothers are also very welcome.
Maryculter Community Hall is a well used facility in the area. The hall itself and the playing field are used throughout the year for community events. Corbie Park also being the home ground of Maryculter FC.
News of events in North Kincardine can be found on the local Rural Community Council website. You will find it at :
http://www.nkrcc.org
This covers the communities of Maryculter, Cookney, Banchory-Devenick and Netherley.
New Primary School
At present Aberdeenshire Council are building a new Primary School in the open panoramic fields adjacent to the Lairhillock Inn and Restaurant, which is scheduled to open early in 2007, that will combine the two small rural Primary schools of Netherley and Maryculter.
The opening of this new School will reinforce the Community links within Maryculter, Netherley and Cookney areas. The School is being built with extensive indoor and outdoor facilities that will enable it to become a new and developing Community hub that will serve the greater area.
There is much concern in the Community regarding the proposals for the AWPR and the new school. If these proposals go ahead many of our young children will have to cross one or even two trunk roads to simply get to school. Cycling and walking to school will become unsafe or impossible for some of our children.
http://www.saferoutestoschools.org.uk
Other Community Activities and Opportunities
Within our small Parish area, we offer numerous and diverse range of activities that are readily available to the general population.
Details of some of these activities are provided below :
Maryculter Parish Church
Maryculter Kirk, and it's graveyards, are situated in the village of Kirkton of Maryculter. The traditional rectangular shape of the Church was originally built in 1787, was extended in 1882 to the cruciform shape that we see today, which is a feature of many mediaeval churches.
A planned new extension for 2006 to the hall will further emphasise the base of the cross, adding, to the old, new facilities which extend this traditional ministry into the twenty-first century.
The following groups meet regularly in the Maryculter Church Hall:
· The Bible Study and Prayer Group meets every Wednesday
· The Youth Café for children in P7 to S6 takes place every Thursday
· The Men's Breakfast Fellowship meets every Saturday
· Our informal evening service takes place on Sundays at 6.30pm
http://www.bdmc-parish.org.uk/church%20index.htm
Blaikiewell Animal Sanctuary and Redwing Riding School
Blaikiewell Animal Sanctuary is currently home to 45 horses and ponies and two Jersey cows, all of which have been saved from various impending unhappy fates since 1977. The first two ponies were bought on impulse at the local market to save them from meat dealers. Other homeless ponies then began to arrive from other sources, and none were ever turned away.
In 1985 Blaikiewell opened a small riding school called the Redwing Riding School to help pay for the maintenance of the ever growing animal population. This riding school has always operated on the basis that the welfare of the horses and ponies are of primary importance. As an example, no whips or sticks are allowed and young riders are not allowed to ride with a bit in the horse's mouth until they have learned control of their hands.
Animals that come to Blaikiewell live there forever, and are never sold nor moved away.
Blaikiewell Animal Sanctuary is under direct threat from these major trunk road schemes, with a huge junction planned in this area. If this road development goes ahead the animal sanctuary will be wiped out.
More details of the Sanctuary and Riding School, and the possiblility to make an online charitable donation to this very worthwhile cause, can be found at the following website :
http://www.blaikiewell.com/index.html
Templars' Park Scout Campsite
Templars' Park Scout Campsite was officially opened by Baden Powell in 1935 and has been owned and operated by Aberdeen Area Scouts since then.
Set in 50 acres of land, Templars' Park offers extensive camping areas, indoor accommodation, many on-site activities and acts as the perfect base for various off-site activities.
Details of some of the camping facilities include :
· Camping available all year round
· Peak Season 1st April to 31st October
· Off-Peak Season 1st November to 31st March
· Capacity 2000 campers
· Free from domestic animals
· Fresh water supply from stand pipes
· Wood Pile
· Altar Fires
· Waste Disposal
· Toilets & Showers
For more details regarding activities at Templars' Park Scout Campsite please refer to the following website.
http://www.templarspark.org.uk
Maryculter Carriage Driving Centre
The Maryculter Carriage Driving Centre is situated in the beautiful valley of the River Dee, and is run by Jane and Ewan MacInnes on their livestock breeding farm, where they rear cattle, sheep and red deer.
The Carriage Driving Centre is set within 136 acres of grassland, enabling them to teach or take farm tours in safe surroundings, without venturing onto the Public Highway. They have a wide variety of experienced horses and ponies, a well stocked harness and teaching room, and an excellent and comprehensive collection of traditional and modern carriages.
For more information, please refer to the following website.
http://www.starimage.co.uk/maryculter/index.htm
Storybook Glen
Storybook Glen is a magical world of make-believe and fun for children (and adults) of all ages, set amidst 28 acres of spectacular scenic beauty in Maryculter.
Storybook Glen is a spectacular Family Theme with over 100 life-sized nursery rhyme models, a working farm and licensed restaurant, it makes for a great family day out.
More details can be found at the following website.
http://www.storybookglenaberdeen.co.uk
Lower Deeside Holiday Park
The Lower Deeside Holiday Park, located adjacent to the Old Mill Inn at Maryculter and the south bank of the River Dee, is one of the finest private, family owned "away from it all" caravan parks in Aberdeenshire.
Their fenced off duck pond, with it's dovecote and doves, has a variety of breeds making their home there. Look out for their resident woodpecker.
More details for the Holiday Park can be found at the following website.
http://www.lowerdeesideholidaypark.com
Blair’s Museum
Blairs College was a training school for young students considering a calling to the priesthood. It was established in 1829 and closed in 1986. The museum details the history of the college, the personalities behind it, and what life was like for the students.
The Museum, Scotland's Catholic Treasury, also holds an internationally renowned collection of fine and decorative art, embroidered vestments and church plate. Visitors can see objects and paintings relating to the Stewarts and Mary, Queen of Scots.
http://www.blairsmuseum.com
http://www.blairsmuseum.com/childrens/home.htm |
