Gardenstown & Crovie
May 19, 2021
This tiny village of Gardenstown produces phenomenally tough men and women. I was to meet two of them.
Perched below a steep cliff, hewn out of rock and exposed to northerly storms, it is amazing this harbour has survived (see photo 4) - and yet - it has produced some of the most successful fishing skippers of north east Scotland.
Michael Watt, the HM, is a trawler skipper sharing his Fraserburgh boat with his brother. Born and bred in Gardenstown, he explained how every single boy in the village followed countless generations before them, learning their boating skills by transiting this rocky harbour, before progressing into a larger family boat. Many of the richest fishing families still live in Gardenstown and their boats still bear the name of the village.
Every style of fishing has been practised here, but it is particularly famous as a Salmon Netting "Station". Or it was.... up until the ban on netting salmon at sea was enforced in 2017. Remember buying "Wild Scottish Salmon"? Not farmed or caught from rivers, but caught by fine nets across the "salmon runs" - managed either from the shore or in small boats between Feb and Aug. For 1,000 years this form of fishing took place from about 500 coastal and estuary "stations" in Scotland. With the decline in stock of Atlantic Salmon (big subject!) it is no more.
Eleanor Hepburn is a force to be reckoned with. Photo 7 shows her standing in front of a photo of her grandmother Ruby (circled), a "herring gutter", taken in Scarborough in 1920. One of thousands of Scottish girls who followed the herring fleet down the east coast, from Shetland in the spring to Gt Yarmouth by the autumn. Eleanor curates the heritage centre and it is where I found a rather lovely prayer - photo 10.
Neighbouring village Crovie is famous for having no main street. The village was nearly destroyed in the 1953 storms - photo 6 - but it remains clinging to the cliff....just!
Thank you Michael and Eleanor for an amazing visit - and to John West for driving me there from Macduff. This is a tough part of the UK - but with some very welcoming people.
Perched below a steep cliff, hewn out of rock and exposed to northerly storms, it is amazing this harbour has survived (see photo 4) - and yet - it has produced some of the most successful fishing skippers of north east Scotland.
Michael Watt, the HM, is a trawler skipper sharing his Fraserburgh boat with his brother. Born and bred in Gardenstown, he explained how every single boy in the village followed countless generations before them, learning their boating skills by transiting this rocky harbour, before progressing into a larger family boat. Many of the richest fishing families still live in Gardenstown and their boats still bear the name of the village.
Every style of fishing has been practised here, but it is particularly famous as a Salmon Netting "Station". Or it was.... up until the ban on netting salmon at sea was enforced in 2017. Remember buying "Wild Scottish Salmon"? Not farmed or caught from rivers, but caught by fine nets across the "salmon runs" - managed either from the shore or in small boats between Feb and Aug. For 1,000 years this form of fishing took place from about 500 coastal and estuary "stations" in Scotland. With the decline in stock of Atlantic Salmon (big subject!) it is no more.
Eleanor Hepburn is a force to be reckoned with. Photo 7 shows her standing in front of a photo of her grandmother Ruby (circled), a "herring gutter", taken in Scarborough in 1920. One of thousands of Scottish girls who followed the herring fleet down the east coast, from Shetland in the spring to Gt Yarmouth by the autumn. Eleanor curates the heritage centre and it is where I found a rather lovely prayer - photo 10.
Neighbouring village Crovie is famous for having no main street. The village was nearly destroyed in the 1953 storms - photo 6 - but it remains clinging to the cliff....just!
Thank you Michael and Eleanor for an amazing visit - and to John West for driving me there from Macduff. This is a tough part of the UK - but with some very welcoming people.