Portlethen

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Portlethen



OS grid reference:	[1]



Population:	6,748 (2004) [2]



Council area:	Aberdeenshire
Constituent country:	Scotland
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom

Police force:	Grampian Police
Lieutenancy area:	Kincardine and Mearns
Former county:	Kincardineshire

Post town:	ABERDEEN
Postal:	AB12 4xx
Telephone:	01224 78


Scottish Parliament:	West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine
UK Parliament:	West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine
European Parliament:	Scotland

Portlethen (Formally Port Leviathan (Port of The Whales)) Coordinates: 57°03′N 2°06′W is a town situated seven miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland along the A90. It has expanded rapidly over the last twenty years. Portlethen has a population of about seven thousand and more than 800 houses are to be built on nearby farmland. To the east of Portlethen lie the three villages - Findon, Portlethen Village and Downies. Although Portlethen is a town in terms of population it resembles a large suburb as there is no 'town centre' or focal point to the settlement.

Much of Portlethen has been built over the Portlethen Moss Nature Reserve, formerly home to the Great Crested Newt and the Red-spotted newt. The remainder of Portlethen Moss is approximately one quarter of the size it was twenty years ago.

1 History
2 Community facilities
3 Portlethen Golf Club
4 References
5 See also

[edit] History

Portlethen lies about two kilometers east of the ancient Causey Mounth road, which was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points south to Aberdeen. This ancient passage specifically connected the Bridge of Dee to Muchalls Castle and Stonehaven to the south^[1]. The route was that taken by the William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose when they led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the first battle of the Civil War in 1639^[2].

[edit] Community facilities

Community facilities in Portlethen include concrete tennis courts, a bowling green with pubilc and private sessions, a swimming pool, a community centre, a library and a golf club. A new Youth Drop-In Centre is also planned. The drop-in-centre has been "planned" for over five years and is no further than the talking stage.

There are four pubs in Portlethen. The Lethan Arms, The Paddock, Brewers Fayre and The Nuek (in Portlethen Village).

There are four shopping areas, Portlethen Retail Park, The Green, Muirend Retail Court and Rowanbank Court.

There are two parks in Portlethen: Bourtree Park and Nicol Park. Nicol Park has a toddlers park, a skate park and two basketball courts. Bourtree Park has a football pitch and a few swings and climbing frames.

There are two primary schools and one secondary school in Portlethen. Portlethen Primary School, the larger of the two primaries and Fishermoss Primary School. Portlethen Academy caters for Portlethen (obviously), the smaller surrounding villages and Newtonhill, a village to the south of Portlethen. Portlethen Academy opened in 2006, next to the original building which was demolished a mere twenty years after being constructed. The new building was built as part of the government's controversial PPI scheme.

[edit] Portlethen Golf Club

Portlethen Golf Club is a private members club founded in 1981,designed by by Donald Steel. The Club Professional is Muriel Thomson who, when she was appointed in 1990, was the first female golf professional in Scotland.

[edit] References

^ C.Michael Hogan, History of Muchalls Castle, Lumina Press, Aberdeen (2005)
^ Archibald Watt, Highways and Biways around Kincardineshire, Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)