Cowton Burn is a stream that rises in the

Mounth The Mounth ( ) is the broad upland in northeast Scotland between the Highland Boundary and the River Dee, at the eastern end of the Grampians. Name and etymology The name ''Mounth'' is ultimately of Pictish origin. The name is derived from ...

, or eastern range of the

Grampian Mountains The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian rang ...

, on some of the northwest slopes of the Durris Forest west of

Netherley, Aberdeenshire Netherley, Scotland is a village in Aberdeenshire, situated approximately five miles northwest of Stonehaven.United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale, 2004 Netherley is located in the Mounth area o ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The Grid Reference for the headwaters is NO 925 823); Cowton Burn is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

to the

Cowie Water The Cowie Water ( gd, Uisge Chollaidh) is a river of Scotland. Geography The river rises in the Grampian Mountains in Kincardineshire, and discharges to the North Sea in the northern part of Stonehaven,United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map Landra ...

. The Cowton Burn is crossed by the A957 road slightly northwest of Rickarton House.

Watershed characteristics

The

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the Cowton Burn rise in a coniferous forest area of the Durris Forest. The stream flows downslope on an easterly course as it makes its way to discharge to the Cowie Water. The stream generally has lush vegetation growing all the way to its margins throughout most of its course. The July flow rate is roughly six cubic feet per second in the headwaters reach. pH levels are slightly alkaline.C.M. Hogan, ''History of Muchalls Castle'', Natural History Section, Lumina Press, Aberdeen (2005)

History

The

Roman Camp In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

Raedykes Raedykes is the site of a Roman marching camp located just over northwest of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. National Grid Reference NO 842902. It is designated as a scheduled monument. A marching camp was a temporary camp used mainly for ...

occupied the northern higher ground of the central drainage area of Cowton Burn, whereas the east flank of Raedykes provides surface runoff to the Burn of Monboys. A number of historical analysts, including the 19th century researcher Gabriel Jaques Surenne and contemporary authors Watt and Hogan, hypothesize that the

Battle of Mons Graupius The Battle of Mons Graupius was, according to Tacitus, a Roman Empire, Roman military victory in what is now Scotland, taking place in AD 83 or, less probably, 84. The exact location of the battle is a matter of debate. Historians have long que ...

was fought in or slightly east of Cowton Burn watershed.Archibald Watt, ''Highways and Byways Round Stonehaven'', Gourdas House Publishers, Aberdeen (1984) Immediately above the confluence with the Cowie Water, one can look down and see expanses of Fetteresso Forest to the west, at the edge of which is the Rickarton House estate, founded by Colonel William Rickart Hepburn in the first decade of the 19th century.Archibald Watt, ''Highways and Biways around Kincardineshire'', Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)

References

{{authority control Rivers of Aberdeenshire

Watershed characteristics

History

See also

References