Interview with Margaret, resident of Huntly since 1937

I came to live by the Battlehill in 1937 and stayed there for 57 years. The first time I went for a walk there my husband took me half way round the wood and I found that was quite a long walk then! Later I had four children and they were the ones who played there – ropes onto trees for a swing and climbing trees and lots of other games.

During the 2nd World War a timber merchant cut down all the fir trees, but left the big beautiful beech trees which mostly grew at the soldiers rest. The soldiers rested by a little burn which is not there now. The soldiers came from fighting the Battle of Slioch in Robert the Bruce’s time. Slioch is very near the Battlehill, just off the turn to Banff. As a child my husband, who lived very near the hill played there a lot. He was playing near the burn once and he found a silver buckle and three silver buttons which appeared to be off an officers uniform and very old. His father put them into a museum.

The flowers were violets and wood anemonies in the spring. Later in the year we could gather wild rasps. and plenty of them. Lovely big brambles grew mostly in the quarry at the edge of the hill. We also got rowan berries which we made jelly with.

The Battlehill was a favourite place. We loved walking all round it – summer and winter, all weathers. The children had wonderful sledging on the hilly banks when we had snow.
We saw red squirrels and the odd pheasant or two and one nested at the back of the hill, but poor thing the nest was scattered and all we could see was some feathers. Maybe a fox did this. My children saw roe deer, but I never did.

I had two poodle dogs and many a time they took themselves off for a run up the Battlehill. Once I had a very spooky late night – the moon was shining in a very dark sky. My dogs had gone off and I went by myself, quite a long way into the hill and callled and called for my dogs but they never came to me. They came home bedraggled the next morning.

We only brought a few branches for the fire when we were out for a walk, we had plenty of wood as we were a timber family.

The Battlehill is a wonderful place and many Huntly people enjoy walking there. I would say it´s a very happy place. Children came and I´m sure they still do, to roll their Easter eggs and have picnic tea after. My children went over the garden wall to play in the Battlehill and near enough to call me to say they were alright.

Looking back, the Battlehill was very bare for a long time after the fir tree were cut during the 2nd World War, but eventually it was replanted with young fir trees. I remember that we could see the town clearly and it took many years to grow to the size the firs are now.

There were lots of rabbits on the Battlehill and an official trapper – but that´s a long time ago.