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HATTON TO PITLURG

The walk began from Hatton Station site and along the track bed as far as the Bogbrae area, where I had to get off the track bed and walk up the Auquharney road past the school (being demolished at the time) and onto the main road. A mile or so's walk took me to where the railway went below the old road and went onto Pitlurg. The old road and railway bridge has been isolated and stands to the southwest of the new road. I hoped to walk the track bed to the Pitlurg station site but the way was blocked a half mile or so into the cutting, which looked easy enough to walk. I walked around the main road to the junction where the road goes off to Pitlurg and to the old station site.

This 1922 map shows the railway going below the railway bridge to the north of Pitlurg station, but which is now isolated to
  isolated from the new road that bypasses it on the north side. I walked to the road Jct (21)
get to Pitlurg station site.

 
The over-grown track bed at Hatton station. Looking towards Ellon. The main road is on the left.             Right:  Reverse view. The station was directly ahead, while the large building stands in the Goods Yard

 
A reasonable track has been formed from years of locals walking their dogs, which made for easy walking for the first half mile or so.
Right: Heading towards Pitlurg

  
Ditto. The path became more difficult as I progressed as the ground was very uneven.                                                  Right: From the same spot looking back towards Hatton

 
Passenger and train crew eye-view approaching Hatton

Still looking towards Hatton. Some ballast remains in the overgrown track bed

 
A vista approximately a mile from Hatton (looking towards Hatton). Right: A difficult spot enroute! I had to climb over two sets of fences separating farmland. Not easy as the wire was quite slack, 'barbed' and the
posts rather shaky

   
Approaching the next field I realized that I was alongside an unfenced field of cattle up ahead. I got as close as I dared then had to duck under the fence on the right but then found a second fence, the original
railway fence. I had to cross that too, with quite a drop to the field. Then walk along the side of the very uneven field to reach the road. Right: The railway ran downhill towards Pitlurg and crossed a brook,
where the track bed was ploughed flat as far as the 'new' main road

 
Strange demolition! The right hand abutment has been trimmed at the top and a short section of the embankment to the right flattened. The map shows a small stream at this point but it doesn't show
up here. The embankment to the right has been ploughed flat for 3/4 a mile towards the new road.   Right: The track bed disappears both sides of the new road, and not seen until the other side of this
road bridge where the railway went below the old road, which, along with it's embankment is now isolated in a field

My plan was to walk the track bed as far as possible towards Pitlurg but on approaching the
bridge I found the way barred by a ditch. This is looking towards Pitlurg.

The view from the top of the bridge, looking towards Pitlurg. The track bed looked good at
this point  but was cut off about half a mile beyond. I didn't realize it at the time but that was
by the site  of Pitlurg  station, which would have  been an easy walk but I had to get back on
the main road  and walk over a mile to get around to that same point

 
The opposite view from the abandoned road bridge, looking beyond the new road to where the track bed disappeared after the brook. The track bed can just be followed going left to right, in mid
distance and going into the short cutting by the green patch and the trees in the far right background. Interesting to note that the bridge had received a repair, just to the left of the builder's name plate.

Right: Approaching Pitlurg station site I came across the entrance to the Goods side of the Station. The station is on the left behind the trees.  The road climbs over what had been a bridge but is not seen.
I walked along the side road but there was no sign of the bridge and/or the track bed, which seems to have been ploughed in for some way towards Achmacoy. The track bed followed the line of trees on
the right. Another mistake was not following this side road, which would have allowed me to follow the track bed for a mile or so  and photograph where the road went over the railway before joining the
Pitlurg-Achmacoy road again.

 
From the top of what should be the sumit of the railway bridge all you can see is the back of Pitlurg station house. Right: Considerable disappointment from here as the entrance to the station is
protected by two gates, which were locked. With no-one in sight for the time I remained there I was unable to get to the station site.

The station would have been where the background trees stand. Perhaps there is little to see!

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