 The highest pass of the route is attained within the Durris Forest.Notable historical structures in the vicinity are Maryculter House, Lairhillock Inn and Muchalls Castle.Most of the lands through which the Elsick Mounth passes are within the Durris Forest; while this forest would have been a mixed deciduous forest in ancient times, currently it is managed as a coniferous monoculture with extensive amounts of clearfelling and subsequent replanting.