Slains and Forvie

"SLAINS-AND-FORVIE, a parish, in the county of Aberdeen, 5 miles (E. by S.) from Ellon; containing, with the villages of Collieston and Oldcastle, 1211 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the shore of the German Ocean, received an augmentation, at what period is uncertain, by the annexation of part of the adjoining parish of Forvie; the rest of which had been overwhelmed by the changing and drifting sands upon the coast. . . The line of coast measures about six miles; it presents in most places bold, craggy, and precipitous rocks, frequently rising 200 feet high, and is deeply indented with fissures, bays, and caves. . . These breaks and caverns were long the haunts of smugglers, and the receptacles of large deposits of contraband goods, being found well adapted for concealment and security. One of them, called Hell-lura, is more than 200 feet in length, with an arch in some parts thirty feet high. . . There are two villages, Oldcastle and Collieston, which are principally inhabited by fishermen engaged in the white-fishery, comprising ling, mackerel, turbot, whiting, halibut, skate, soles, flounders, haddock, and cod. . . Ecclesiastically this place is in the presbytery of Ellon, synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of Colonel John Gordon, of Cluny: the minister's stipend is £217, with a manse, and glebe worth £9 per annum. The church, standing within 300 yards of the shore, was built at the beginning of the present century, and accommodates 654 persons with sittings. . . More"
[From Samuel Lewis A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) - copyright Mel Lockie 2016]