← Back⛪ Religious grounds

Rathen West Church

📷 Anne Burgess · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

WildlifeBirdsPlay

Public accessFree entryDogs welcome

Getting here

57.63828, -2.00144

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Visiting this summer

Seasonal nature notes and what to look for now

🌞Midsummer — early morning visits most comfortable; look for deer fawns in quieter clearings
☀️Summer family visits work well here — arrive early and plan for a longer stay
🛝Playground 100m away — built-in entertainment for younger visitors alongside the wider site

🌤️ Visiting this summer

🌞Midsummer — early morning visits most comfortable; look for deer fawns in quieter clearings
☀️Summer family visits work well here — arrive early and plan for a longer stay
🛝Playground 100m away — built-in entertainment for younger visitors alongside the wider site

Good to know

£Free to visit — no entry charge
🐕Dogs welcome

Playground

Best for

7 activities

Wildlife

Very strong match

Multi-group wildlife — Birds, Mammals; Multi-group wildlife — Birds, Mammals

Free

Bird watching

Very strong match

Birds — Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blackbird +67 more · last seen 2025; Birds — Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blackbird +67 more · last seen 2025

Free

Playgrounds

Strong match

playground

Free

Family friendly

Good match

playground

Free

Dog walks

Good match

Dogs allowed with public access

Free

Insect spotting

Good match

Insects — Marmalade Hoverfly, Eristalis arbustorum, Green-veined White +11 more · last seen 2022; Insects — Marmalade Hoverfly, Eristalis arbustorum, Green-veined White +11 more · last seen 2022

Free

Trails nearby

Within roughly 5 km

🚶

Walking

1 signed route nearby

Signed route nearby

Formartine and Buchan WayWalking route86 km

Dyce to Fraserburgh with branch to Peterhead

Named routeLength 86 kmNational walking route

🚴

Cycling

1 signed route nearby

Route 194Cycling route

Named routeRef 194National Cycle Network

Wildlife to spot

9,179 records · National Biodiversity Network

Wildlife to spot

9,179 records · National Biodiversity Network

🐦

Birds53 species

winterspringautumn

2025

Goldfinch · Woodpigeon · House Sparrow · Jackdaw · Carrion Crow +48

GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
WoodpigeonColumba palumbus2023
House SparrowPasser domesticus2023
JackdawColoeus monedula2023
Carrion CrowCorvus corone2023
RobinErithacus rubecula2023
Herring GullLarus argentatus2023
DunnockPrunella modularis2023
Tree SparrowPasser montanus2023
ChaffinchFringilla coelebs2023
YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella2023
BlackbirdTurdus merula2023
Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus2023
RookCorvus frugilegus2023
StarlingSturnus vulgaris2023
PheasantPhasianus colchicus2023
MagpiePica pica2023
Rock DoveColumba livia2023
Pied WagtailMotacilla alba yarrellii2023
Great TitParus major2022
LinnetLinaria cannabina2022
SwallowHirundo rustica2023
Coal TitPeriparus ater2023
Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus2023
Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis2022
OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus2022
WrenTroglodytes troglodytes2022
LapwingVanellus vanellus2022
SiskinSpinus spinus2022
Song ThrushTurdus philomelos2022
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus2022
Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto2022
Lesser RedpollAcanthis flammea cabaret2023
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus2023
Common GullLarus canus2023
Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus2022
Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra2022
SkylarkAlauda arvensis2022
ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita2023
GreenfinchChloris chloris2023
Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus2023
European White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons albifrons2023
Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major2023
Mute SwanCygnus olor2023
GoldcrestRegulus regulus2022
Sturnus vulgaris vulgarisSturnus vulgaris vulgaris2022
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus2022
CurlewNumenius arquata2022
RedshankTringa totanus2022
ShagGulosus aristotelis2022
StonechatSaxicola rubicola2022
Common GuillemotUria aalge2022
CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo2022

🦌

Mammals1 species

spring

2024

Red Squirrel

Red SquirrelSciurus vulgaris

🐝

Insects14 species

summer

2022

Marmalade Hoverfly · Eristalis arbustorum · Green-veined White · Syrphus vitripennis · Platycheirus manicatus +9

Marmalade HoverflyEpisyrphus balteatus
Eristalis arbustorumEristalis arbustorum
Green-veined WhitePieris napi
Syrphus vitripennisSyrphus vitripennis
Platycheirus manicatusPlatycheirus manicatus
PeacockAglais io
Rhingia campestris

Species observations from the last 10 years via NBN Atlas

Wildlife to spot

9,179 records · National Biodiversity Network

🐦

Birds53 species

winterspringautumn

2025

Goldfinch · Woodpigeon · House Sparrow · Jackdaw · Carrion Crow +48

GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
WoodpigeonColumba palumbus2023
House SparrowPasser domesticus2023
JackdawColoeus monedula2023
Carrion CrowCorvus corone2023
RobinErithacus rubecula2023
Herring GullLarus argentatus2023
DunnockPrunella modularis2023
Tree SparrowPasser montanus2023
ChaffinchFringilla coelebs2023
YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella2023
BlackbirdTurdus merula2023
Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus2023
RookCorvus frugilegus2023
StarlingSturnus vulgaris2023
PheasantPhasianus colchicus2023
MagpiePica pica2023
Rock DoveColumba livia2023
Pied WagtailMotacilla alba yarrellii2023
Great TitParus major2022
LinnetLinaria cannabina2022
SwallowHirundo rustica2023
Coal TitPeriparus ater2023
Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus2023
Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis2022
OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus2022
WrenTroglodytes troglodytes2022
LapwingVanellus vanellus2022
SiskinSpinus spinus2022
Song ThrushTurdus philomelos2022
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus2022
Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto2022
Lesser RedpollAcanthis flammea cabaret2023
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus2023
Common GullLarus canus2023
Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus2022
Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra2022
SkylarkAlauda arvensis2022
ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita2023
GreenfinchChloris chloris2023
Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus2023
European White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons albifrons2023
Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major2023
Mute SwanCygnus olor2023
GoldcrestRegulus regulus2022
Sturnus vulgaris vulgarisSturnus vulgaris vulgaris2022
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus2022
CurlewNumenius arquata2022
RedshankTringa totanus2022
ShagGulosus aristotelis2022
StonechatSaxicola rubicola2022
Common GuillemotUria aalge2022
CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo2022

🦌

Mammals1 species

spring

2024

Red Squirrel

Red SquirrelSciurus vulgaris

🐝

Insects14 species

summer

2022

Marmalade Hoverfly · Eristalis arbustorum · Green-veined White · Syrphus vitripennis · Platycheirus manicatus +9

Marmalade HoverflyEpisyrphus balteatus
Eristalis arbustorumEristalis arbustorum
Green-veined WhitePieris napi
Syrphus vitripennisSyrphus vitripennis
Platycheirus manicatusPlatycheirus manicatus
PeacockAglais io
Rhingia campestris

Species observations from the last 10 years via NBN Atlas

Wildlife to spot

Photos

📷 Anne Burgess · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

Rathen West Kirk Roof

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Nearby places

Useful places within 5 km

🌱Pitblae ParkUrban park4.4 km→🦉Waters of PhilorthNature reserve4.5 km→🌱ABC SwingsUrban park5 km→⛪Lonmay Parish ChurchReligious grounds3.9 km→🪦Fraserburgh CemeteryCemetery4.5 km→⛪Rathen East ChurchReligious grounds3.6 km→

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