Keith Inch facts for kids
Keith Inch is a special place in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the most eastern point of mainland Scotland! Long ago, it was actually an island. Now, it's connected to the land and to another former island called Greenhill.
Keith Inch is an important part of Peterhead Harbour. The word "Inch" means "island" in Scottish. You can find this word in other Scottish place names too, like Inchcolm. It comes from the Scottish Gaelic word innis.
This area was once very busy with the whaling industry. Whaling involved hunting whales for their oil and other products. There were "boil yards" here, where whale blubber was processed. You can still see the remains of a whale bone arch, which is a cool reminder of its past.
History of Keith Inch Castle
On Keith Inch, there used to be a castle! It was built in the late 1500s by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal. People think this castle might have looked like Kronborg Castle in Denmark.
In 1644, during a time of conflict, about 500 English soldiers came to the Peterhead area. They set up camp on Keith Inch and used the castle as their main base.
After the year 1715, a man named Thomas Arbuthnot bought the land. He built a more modern house to the north of the island. Over time, the old castle was no longer used as a home. Parts of it were turned into a place for processing fish and into boil yards for whaling. The last parts of the castle were removed in the late 1800s. However, sometimes you can still find a very old, large stone wall from its past.
