Oyne is a small village in rural 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...

 at the bottom of Bennachie

Bennachie

Bennachie is a range of hills in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has several tops, the highest of which, Oxen Craig, has a height of 528 m...

 in 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...

.

Locality

The village has limited local resources. It once had a railway station, and now has a daily bus service to Inverurie 8 miles (12.9 km) away and to Huntly. The area is popular with commuters to Inverurie

Inverurie

Inverurie is a Royal Burgh and town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north west of Aberdeen on the A96 road and is served by Inverurie railway station on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line...

/Huntly/Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, a journey of around 30 minutes. The area has a number of large private houses such as Westhall House, which was a small hotel until the 1990s.

Harthill Castle

Of note is the ancient seat of the family of Leith of Harthill, Harthill Castle (sometimes called 'Torries'), which stands close to the parish church. It dates from at least the 15th century and was extensively restored in 1638 by John Leith, the "violent laird". The castle was set on fire in the late 17th century, possible by John's son, Patrick Leith, to prevent it from falling into the hands of Leith creditors. It stood as a ruin for the next 300 years.

Ann Tweedy Savage purchased the castle in 1975 and with Slessor Troup, one of the area's top master masons, restored it between 1975 and 1977. The restoration work won the Saltire Award in 1977.

Harthill Castle is a pink-washed Z-plan twin-tower building, seven storeys (77 feet) high, made of solid granite, and set in woodland and farmland in Oyne at the foot of Bennachie. The ground floor is vaulted and has arrow slits and musket holes for windows. The next two storeys are partially vaulted. There are circular staircases in each tower, each rising counter-clockwise. The Great Hall has a 17-foot fireplace that predates the building and was probably brought to the property by the Leiths from their previous home.

Facilities

• Post box
• Bus service
• Primary school
• Archaeolink, a pre-history park
• Public telephone box