Strathdon (Bellabeg) to Lost Art Gallery

Distance	Approximate Time	Height Gain	OS Map
15 kms	04:00 (hrs:mins)	110 metres	Explorer 405: Aboyne, Alford & Strathdon

Description

After leaving the car park, the walk heads along a narrow tarred road past Lost Farm. (The signpost for this, used to simply say LOST, but has been a frequent target of souvenir hunters, so it may literally be lost or say 'Lost Farm'). The route then follows farm tracks past rolling fields on one side and woodland on the other. After crossing a bridge, the walk continues by a small stream for a short while, before entering woodland and eventually reaching what must be the most remote art gallery in the country.

Part of the route is then retraced, then after another woodland section, rises and passes through a field, from which good views of the surrounding countryside can be seen.

This section contains a stretch of about 100m of recently thinned woodland with piles of brushwood making the path more awkward. This is followed by a gradual descent to the main road. After crossing the road, it follows an old turnpike road and bridge before gradually rising again. This provides good views over the River Don and an old motte, before returning to the car park.

For those interested in more ancient signs of the history, the area surrounding the motte or Doune of Invernochty can be reached from the car park. The Doune was an important stronghold. It is an oval-shaped mound of residual mass of fluvial gravel. Surrounded by a deep ditch, the summit has remains of a curtain-shaped wall 1.8m thick with an entrance to the south. In the wall are remains of a Norman chapel which served as a parish church until the mid-17th Century, a unique piece of Norman military engineering.