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Leochel Cushnie

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

Etymology
The old parishes of Leochel and Cushnie were united in 1795, on the death of Mr. Francis Adam, minister of Cushnie. In ancient documents, Leochel is spelt Loychel, Loquhell, Lochel, Lochale, Leuchell, and Leochel. The derivation of Leochel given by the late Rev. Dr. Taylor, is correct only as to orthography. The name is derived from the Celtic Lia, which signifies grey (and not a stream, as the learned doctor has it), and with the compound word uichill, a very common construction of Uch-dach-M'hill, meaning "prominent hills," we have Lia-uich-ill, the "grey prominent hills," which are very descriptive of the parish, and the derivation has every degree of probability.

Cushnie has been spelt Cussenin, Cusschene, Cusseny, Cuischnie, Cusney, and Cushney. It is derived from the Celtic Ch'oisinn, or Ch'oisne, which means the "corner or angle" of the country, as Dal or Daile-choisne, in Perthshire, means "the field at the corner or angle."

Boundaries
The parish is bounded on the north by Kildrummy and Alford; on the east by Tough and Lumphanan; on the south by Coull, Tarland, and Logie-Coldstone; and on the west by Towie.

Extent
The extreme length in a direct line, from the Tarland boundary, near Tilly-lodge, to the top of Callievar on the north, is about 5¾ miles, and the distance, from the Tough boundary on the east, to the top of the hill of Cushnie on the west, is nearly seven miles. The whole area is computed to be 12,859 acres, 448 decs.

Topography
The surface of the parish is extremely undulating. The valley of the water of Leochel runs along the eastern and southern boundaries of the parish, intersecting a portion of the eastern division; the valley or glen of Cushnie, running along the northern, and intersecting the southwestern division. The haugh on the burn of Leochel, at the bridge of Scuttrie, is 500 feet above sea level; the hill of Callievar (Coille-bhar), in the north-eastern corner, is 1,746 feet; and the Soccoch, or Cushnie Hill, in the south-west, is 1,882 feet, and is the highest point of land in the parish. The church stands 1,029 feet, the house of Hall-head is 950 feet, Craigievar Castle 838 feet, and the house of Lynturk is about 700 feet above sea level.

The southern ridges run westward by Hall-head, and into the higher bounding hills with Tarland; and the middle range of hills run from west of the Leochel burn, by Craigievar, the hill of Fowlis rising into the Cushnie Hills on the western boundary with Towie. From Callievar the ridge trends south and eastward along the Alford boundary, by the top of the Droich's burn, which falls into the Leochel below Carnaveron and the confluence of the streams is about 484 above sea level, and is the lowest point in the parish.

The summit of the hilly ridges, and the higher hills of the Soccoch, and a large extent of hill ground bounding with Towie, the higher ridges and knolls of the Elph-hillock, and above the Slack of Culmellie, and the mountainous ridges of Cullievar, are barren, and but scantily covered with heath, and tracts of gravelly soil and moss; while on the mossy and boggy places on the hill slopes there are some green spots and coarse grass, and in the slacks of the hills there is pretty good pasture, but little of the ground is capable of cultivation.

Many names of places in the parish are derived from the Gaelic--as Lynturk, or Linn-tuirc, "the pool of the boar;" Muggart-haugh (Magh-dart), the plain field by the quick or straight stream; Craigievar (Creagach-bhar), "the rocky point;" Cairncoullie (Carn-cailleach), "the old woman's cairn;" Drumfootie (Druim-fada), "the long ridge;" Balnakeilly (Baile-na-coille), "the town of the wood;" Knockenriach (Cnoc-riabhach), "the greyish knoll;" Corbanchory (Owre-benchery), "the rough ground between the hills;" and the Soccoch Hills (Sgor-na-lappach), "the frost-bitten cliffs," or "frost-bitten hills," and they are said to be "the coldest hills in Scotland,"

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