Kincardine and Mearns

There are significant natural features in this district including rivers, forests, mountains and bogs (known locally as mosses).

The southern part is more self-sufficient, with the fertile Mearns area sustaining a strong agricultural economy.

As the name suggested, it also included the large geographical area of the drainage basin of the River Dee from the southern section of Aberdeenshire.

[3] In the Middle Ages the principal roadway connecting Stonehaven to Aberdeen was known as the Causey Mounth;[4] this drovers' road was constructed in some places with large boulders in order to span certain boggy stretches.

During the Scottish Enlightenment period, Lord Monboddo operated a large agricultural estate in the Mearns, at which location he conducted considerable research in agricultural improvement; Monboddo was best known as a jurist on the Court of Session, as the father of modern historical linguistics and a pre-evolutionary thinker.