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Keig

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

Etymology
Any origin that can be assigned to the name is merely conjectural. It has neither towns nor villages, neither has it any very remarkable natural curiosities. On the north-east there is the mountain of Benachie, derived from Bein-a-ché, which means "the mountain of Ché," a pagan deity held in great veneration by the Caledonian Gael, and the hill of the Barme-kin, or Barniken, on the north-west. Barr-na-cinn means the point of the headland; and over the face of the country, between these two points, there are the remains of several Druidical circles. One of these stands on the Cothiemuir-hill, within the grounds of Castle Forbes; another stands to the north-west of Old Keig. The top of the Barniken is crowned with the ruins of a circular enclosure of loose stones, about 80 yards in diameter, with a loose heap of stones in the centre; and on the borders of Leslie parish, on the north, the Druids, or "standing stones," are numerous, and are said to point out the site of a Druidical village. Among the names of places in this parish we have Puttachie (Pit-uch-chie), "the hollow field of tee Ché;" Pittendreigh, derived from Pit-na-druidheachh, meaning "the hollow of the Druidical magical art, and the Noon-haugh, where the Druids held their great annual festival, on the 1st of May," which was celebrated "by great sacrifices, and religious observances." On the west of the parish there is Balgowan, which is derived from the Gaelic, Baile-ghobhainn, and signifies "the blacksmith's town;" Tulloch, or Tulach, singly, means a "knoll;" and Auchnagathle (Auch-na-ghaoil), is "the lovely field."

Boundaries
Keig is bounded on the north by the parishes of Leslie and Premnay; on the east by Oyne and Monymusk; on the south by Tough; and on the west by Alford and Tullynessle.

Extent
The greatest length of the parish in a direct line, from south to north, is five miles; and the greatest breadth along the ridge of the northern hills, from east to west, is about four miles; and the whole area is computed to be 8,119¼ acres.

Topography
That division of the parish lying between the river Don and the northern bounding ridges of Benachie, the Brindy, and the Barniken, is hilly, and very irregular in outline. The flat ground along the Don, the slopes, and some of the tops of the lower hills, are mostly cultivated, while a considerable extent of the lower hills are planted. The higher hills on the Leslie and Premnay boundaries, are covered with heath and rugged rocks. The highest point in Benachie, the Oxen Craigs (in the parish of Oyne), is 1,732 feet, above sea level; the Brindy hill road, on the Leslie boundary, is 623 feet; (the summit of the hill, also in Leslie, being 826 feet;) and the site of the Druidical village, 800 feet. The lowermost point on the Don, at East Glenton, bordering with the parish of Oyne, is about 335 feet; the road-way on the bridge of Keig, is 406 feet; and the highest point on the river, at the burn of Cividley, bounding with Tullynessle, is about 396 feet. Castle Forbes stands 490 feet above sea level; and the church of Keig is 514 feet. The division of the parish south of the Don, and the western parts along the burn of Bents, bordering with Alford, arc comparatively flat, rising to the east with gentle slopes to the Menaway ridge and Cairn William, 1,468 feet, in Monymusk. This ridge extends from the Don, along the eastern boundary of Keig, towards the slack of Tillyfourie, i.e., "the cold knoll," joining the ridge of Corrennie, and forms the eastern bounding mountains of the Vale of Alford. The junction of the Alford and Keig roads, at the Whitehouse Railway Station, is 466 feet; and the bridge over the burn of Bents, on the Alford road, is 445 feet above sea level.

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