134 Den of Aberdour. [CHAP. VIII. 
furze, primroses, wild rasps, wild strawberries, whortleber- 
ries, as well as many rare plants, are to be found there; 
while the songsters of the grove—thrushes, blackbirds, and 
linnets—haunt the brush-wood in varying numbers. 
The most picturesque and interesting of these dens are 
those of Troup, Auchmedden, and Aberdour. The dens, 
when followed inland, are found to branch out into various 
lesser dens, until they become lost in the moors and mosses 
of the interior. The Den of Aberdour is particularly beau- 
tiful. At its northern extremity, near where it opens upon 
the sea, the rift in the glen is almost overhung by the ru- 
ins of the ancient church of Aberdour,* said to have been 
founded by St. Columbanus, who landed on this part of the 
coast to convert the pagan population to Christianity. The 
Bay of Aberdour, with its bold headland, forms the sea en- 
trance to this picturesque valley. 
The coast-line of Banffshire, without regarding the inden- 
tations of the bays, extends for about thirty miles along the 
southern shores of the Moray Firth. This was the princi- 
pal scene of Edward’s explorations. His rounds usually ex- 
tended coastwise, for about seven miles in one direction, 
and about six in another. He also went inland for six 
* The modern church is at New Aberdour, nearer the centre of the 
population; but the church-yard at Old Aberdour is still used as the 
parish burying-ground. Nothing can be more disgraceful than the 
state of some of the country burying-places in Scotland. The graves 
at Aberdour are covered with hemlocks and nettles! And yet some 
money seems to have been spent in “ornamenting” the place. The 
ruins of the ancient church have actually been “harled’”—that is, be- 
spattered with a mixture of lime and gravel! Think of “harling” 
Melrose Abbey! The money spent in whitewashing the ruins would 
certainly have been better expended in removing the bits of old cof- 
fins, cutting down the hemlocks and nettles, and putting the burying- 
ground into better order. The queen has shown a good example in 
ordering the church-yard of Crathic to be improved. But that of 
Braemar is still in a wretched state, being covered with hemlocks 
and nettles. 
