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Canal milestone, 6 miles. The distances along the canal were marked in milestones and half-milestones. This milestone is a granite column, 0.5m high and 0.3m in diameter. The milestones began their counting at zero from Aberdeen harbour. An Archaeological assessment carried out in 2005 confirmed the location of a section of the canal east of Stoneywood Road. Opened in 1805, the Aberdeenshire canal provided better transport between Aberdeen and the rural countryside. It carried goods and passengers between Waterloo Quay in Aberdeen and Port Elphinstone, near Inverurie. The loads were pulled on barges by two or three horses harnessed in tandem. The towpath lay on the right bank of the canal, if travelling in the direction of Port Elphinstone. On the opposite side were the wharves for mooring boats. Passengers could travel, at the rate of 2 pennies per mile, from Port Elphinstone to the Boat House, just south of St Machar Drive and about two miles from Aberdeen harbour. The canal closed in 1854, having been superseded by the Great North of Scotland Railway, which was in part built upon the line of the canal.
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