Auchterless

A New History of Aberdeenshire, Alexander Smith (Ed), 1875

Etymology
The prefix Auchter is derived from the Gaelic "Uachdar," which signifies the upper, and "shlios," the upper side together signifying the upper cultivated fields--which is very descriptive of the parish, and generally of the high lying position of the land within it.

Boundaries
The parish is bounded on the north by Inverkeithney in Banffshire, and the parish of Turriff; on the east by Fyvie; on the south by Rayne and Culsalmond; and on the west by Forgue.

Extent
Its greatest length, from south to north, measures in a direct line, about 7½ miles, and from east to west, also in a direct line, it measures nearly five miles. The whole area is estimated to be about 18,000 acres.

Topography
The central valley of the Ythan, which runs from south-west. to north-east, divides the parish into about two equal parts, the western half being again divided by the Garries burn, which flows in an easterly direction by Thornybank, and falls into the Ythan at Knockleith. From these two principal intersecting streams, the hills present a rounded flowing outline, but in few cases are they steeper than that which admits of tillage, and in most cases the valleys and hills are all cultivated, and the few hill tops which are not, are either planted, or deemed unfit for being brought into profitable cultivation. The lowermost point of land in the parish is on the Ythan, on the borders of Fyvie, which point is about 24 miles from the sea, by the course of the river, and 134 feet above its level. The highest point of the Ythan is in the parish, being at the influx of the burn of Ault, or Auld-davy, on the boundary of Forgue, where the river is about 745 feet above sea level. The highest land in the west division is the hill of Carline Craig (850 feet), on the borders of Inverkeithney. On the east division of the parish, the hill of Seggat is 620 feet, and on the south-east, the hill of Blackford is 715 feet above sea level.

[A New History of Aberdeenshire, Alexander Smith (Ed), 1875]