Still, considering its latitude (57°-57° 40’), Aberdeenshire enjoys a comparatively moderate climate. It is neither very rigorous in winter nor very warm in [Illustration: Rainfall Map of Scotland. (After Dr H. R. Mill)] summer. Of course in a large county a distinction must be drawn between the coast temperature and that of the high lying districts such as Braemar. The fringe round the coast is in the summer less warm than the inland parts, a result due to the coolness of the enclosing sea, but in the winter this state of affairs is reversed and the uplands are held in the grip of a hard frost while the coast-side has little or none. The mean temperature of Scotland is 47°, while Aberdeen has 46°·4 and Peterhead 46°·8. That of Braemar, the most westerly station in the county, though in reality very little lower, is arrived at by entirely different figures; the temperature being much higher during July, August and September, but lower in December, January and February. Braemar is 1114 feet above sea-level and since there is a regular and uniform decline in temperature to the extent of 1° for every 270 feet above the sea, the temperature of this hill-station should be low. As a matter of fact, from June to September it is only 9° and in October 7°·5 below that of London. Yet its maximum is 10° higher than is recorded at Aberdeen, only in winter its minimum is 20° lower than the minimum of the coast. Braemar and Peterhead as lying at the two extremes of the county may be compared. Peterhead receives the uninterrupted sweep of the easterly breezes, for it has no shelter or protection either of forests or mountains. The impression a visitor takes is that Peterhead is an exceptionally cold place. As a fact, its mean winter temperature is above the average for Scotland, but the lack of shelter and the constant motion of the air give an impression of coldness. In the summer and autumn its mean falls below that of Scotland. It is therefore less cold in the cold months and less warm in the warm months than Braemar and has a seasonal variation of only 16°·3 between winter and summer, whereas Edinburgh has a range of 21° and London of 26°. [Illustration: Inverey near Braemar]