Hatton of Fintray: History and Landscape

Hatton of Fintray can be considered for trip planning through several distinct themes: a listed church building, a war grave, the designed landscape of Fintray House, and the historic alignment of Skair Road. The Fintray House Hill Climb, held every year since 1995, provides a separate reason to visit. If you are looking for a hotel in Hatton of Fintray, you can first consider whether your stay will be shaped mainly by the historical themes or by the date of an event. The details below will help you distinguish between these priorities and tailor your search accordingly.

Historic buildings and places of remembrance

Hatton of Fintray Old Church is a Category B listed building. At St Giles Chapel there is a chapel graveyard and the site of a chapel; no traces of the chapel itself survive. The enlarged graveyard now serves as a new parish graveyard. These are distinct situations: Old Church is a listed building, while St Giles Chapel is classified as a chapel site with no surviving traces. This distinction is useful if you do not want to treat the church sites as buildings of the same kind.

There is also a Second World War Commonwealth war grave in the graveyard of St Giles Chapel. It is the grave of Battery Quartermaster Sergeant Georg Donald of the Royal Engineers. This specific identification connects the graveyard with an individual and his unit. The historical theme therefore includes not only the history of buildings and graveyards, but also a remembrance of military service in the Second World War.

Fintray House and the designed landscape

Remains of a 17th-century designed landscape survive at the site of Fintray House. The River Don and the surrounding views influenced its design. To the north of the Don, extensive deciduous and coniferous woodland stretches across the grounds of Fintray House. Together, these details form a distinct focus on landscape history: the surviving remains of the design, the influence of the river and views, and the woodland north of the Don. If you give greater weight to landscape history than to individual buildings when choosing your travel theme, you can distinguish this focus from the history of Old Church and St Giles Chapel.

Skair Road and its historic alignment

Skair Road largely follows the route of a road that the Ordnance Survey called General Wade's Military Road. Major Caulfeild had the road built in the 1750s as part of the route between Stonehaven and Fochabers via Aberdeen. The route may have been realigned since the 18th century. Its history therefore includes both its historic name and date of construction, as well as the possibility of a later change to its route. Skair Road also runs via the B979, Hatton of Fintray Road. For your travel plans, the historic alignment and the possibility of a later realignment should therefore be considered as separate aspects.

Planning for events and transport

The Fintray House Hill Climb has been held every year since 1995, and spectators are welcome. Check the current dates and event arrangements in advance, as these may change.

The Inverurie Rural A2B Dial-a-Bus serves Hatton of Fintray. Rides must be booked in advance; the service offers door-to-door service with low-floor vehicles and wheelchair-accessible transport. Check the current service information when planning, as details may change. This keeps two separate planning points clear: for the Hill Climb, consider the date and event arrangements; for the Dial-a-Bus, consider advance booking and the transport offered. Both may be relevant to your trip, without implying anything about specific hotels.

Discover more destinations: Stonehaven, Ballater, Dinnet, Fordyce, Portsoy, Turriff, Newmachar, Alford.

For the wider travel overview: Aberdeenshire.