Portal to Portlethen

Welcome to my website which is dedicated to Portlethen, and more specifically the villages of Old Portlethen, Findon and Downies. Here we can explore the background and local history of these small Kincardineshire fishing villages and the surrounding area. At the same time I’ll include some personal insights, memories, and very probably a few irrelevant or irreverent thoughts. 

What is Portlethen? There are a few different versions out there – a quoad sacra parish, part of the parish of Banchory Devenick, a barony, an estate, a small fishing village, port of the whales, a mossy peat bog, a series of industrial estates, a poorly planned urban centre, the home of the Webb Chicken, a dormitory town for Aberdeen, a city suburb, one of Stewartie Milne’s building sites or somewhere to stay until you’re old enough to leave. Depending on your viewpoint, or where you stay, all or some of these are likely to apply although I’m a bit sceptical of the Webb Chicken! 

What is my version of Portlethen? It’s the place where I was brought up and where I’ve stayed since 1960 until I made the move in 1987 to Downies, one mile south along the coast. When we were young the coast from Findon Ness to Downies Haven, and sometimes beyond, was our playground where we learned about the cliffs, the rocks and the ways of the sea and it’s these memories that have inspired me to create and develop this website. 

I’ve included photographs – old and new, news-cuttings, illustrations and historical data that I’ve uncovered and developed during my research which will bring life to the story of Portlethen and, hopefully, make it real.  

Within these web pages any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is not purely coincidental .….. It might be true!

Website Created 16th October 2009. © Ian Kenn.