Cromar (Scottish Gaelic:Crò Mhàrr) is an area inAberdeenshire, north eastScotland twenty five miles inland fromAberdeen.[1] It is also known as the Howe of Cromar.
Surrounded by a sweep of hills, dominated byMorven 871m (2858 feet), this lower lying area is a mixture of farming, forestry[1] and settlements, principallyTarland[2][3] andLogie Coldstone. It is near toAboyne and theMuir of Dinnet.
The area has evidence of human habitation going back to 4000 BC, notably the recumbentTomnaverie stone circle, asouterrain or earth house at Culsh, as well as numerous burial cairns, lesser stone circles, Bronze Age fortifications andPictish Stones. These antiquities point the existence of several distinct cultures living in the Cromar over the millennia.[4]
Shouldering Morven is Culblean, the site of theBattle of Culblean in 1335.[4] Running off the same hill is theBurn O'Vat, here the burn has carved a cauldron like gorge in the granite. This was the hideout of the notorious 18th-century outlawGilderoy McGregor.
As with most ofRoyal Deeside, there are a number of minor mansions in the area, includingBlelack,Tillypronie, Douneside and Alastrean House.
The land is mainly put to farming cattle and sheep. There are a number of commercial forest plantations but also areas of natural birch woodland. The higher ground around the Cromar is heather moorland, much of it maintained for grouse shooting. Pheasants are a common sight lower down. The area also has a population of Red Squirrels.