The Burn of Muchalls is an easterly flowing stream in Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 that discharges to the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

. Its point of discharge is on a rocky beach set with scenic sea stack

Stack

-Mathematics:* Stack , general category-theoretical concept to formalise "pull-back" operations in geometry and algebra* Algebraic stack, a generalisation of scheme and algebraic space in algebraic geometry; a specific type of the above-Computers:...

s. Flowing principally over agricultural lands, the Burn of Muchalls traverses through the hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 of the Bridge of Muchalls

Bridge of Muchalls

Bridge of Muchalls is an entirely residential hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland by the North Sea. It is on the A90 dual carriageway about three miles north of Stonehaven and to the south of Muchalls Castle....

, flows beneath the A90 road

A90 road

The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire.From Edinburgh, it travels west and over the Forth Road Bridge, before turning into the M90 motorway. At Perth, the M90 again becomes the A90, now running north east to Dundee...

 and thence to the rugged shoreline of the North Sea slightly to the south of Doonie Point

Doonie Point

Doonie Point is a rocky headland situated approximately 1.5 kilometres south of the village of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The clifftop of Doonie Point yields views to the north of Grim Brigs, Brown Jewel and the coast of Newtonhill. To the south are views of the Castle Rock of Muchalls...

. Just above the discharge to the North Sea is a scenic pool, used in the drowning scene of Ophelia in the Franco Zeffirelli

Franco Zeffirelli

Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....

 film Hamlet

Hamlet (1990 film)

Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson as the young Prince Hamlet...

. A northern fork of the Burn of Muchalls flows over lands of Muchalls Castle

Muchalls Castle

Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...

 prior to the confluence with the mainstem

Mainstem (hydrology)

In relation to hydrology, a main stem is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Another common term for the main stem, the final large channel of a riverine system, is the trunk. Water enters the main stem from the river's drainage basin, the land area...

 Burn of Muchalls within the Bridge of Muchalls.

History

In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 the only coast

Coast

A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...

al land route, the over the Mounth

Mounth

The Mounth is the range of hills on the southern edge of Strathdee in northeast Scotland. It was usually referred to with the article, i.e. "the Mounth". The name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic monadh which in turn is akin to the Welsh mynydd, and may be of Pictish origin...

, the Causey Mounth

Causey Mounth

The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...

, crossed the Burn of Muchalls at the Bridge of Muchalls.

Near the mouth of the Burn of Muchalls is an old mill that earlier functioned to harness the power of the burn. There is also a fisherman's stone bothy

Bothy

A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are to be found in remote, mountainous areas of Scotland, northern England, Ireland, and Wales....

 on the cliff

Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...

s near the burn overlooking the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

.

See also

• Hill of Muchalls
  Hill of Muchalls
  The Hill of Muchalls is a coastal mountainous landform situated approximately 1.4 kilometres west of the Bridge of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland within the Mounth Range of the Grampian Mountains. The peak elevation of this mountain is 120 metres above mean sea level. From Megray Hill...
  
  
• Limpet Burn
  Limpet Burn
  Limpet Burn is a watercourse in Aberdeenshire, Scotland whose discharge is deemed part of the North Sea coastal drainage. Prominent geographic features in the vicinity of Limpet Burn are Megray Hill and Kempstone Hill. Notable buildings in proximity to Limpet Burn are Ury House, Muchalls Castle...
  
  
• Netherley
• Red Moss