Early refrigeration.

The mouth of the river Ythan was, until recently, the location of a commercial salmon fishing station. The odd looking building in the photograph was the station's ice house where the freshly caught salmon were kept cold until they were ready to be sent to market. The main part of the ice house lies under the concrete dome and consists of a huge granite-lined chamber dug deep into the ground. Back in the 19th century the chamber was packed with ice collected locally in winter or, believe it or not, brought by sea in huge blocks from the Arctic. The ships used to transport the ice were often old strongly built wooden Arctic whaling vessels  perfectly designed for moving through the pack ice.