After the demise of the village of Rattray itself in the ealy 1700s there were no fishing as such from the Crimond estate. The village was built between 1792 and 1795 and adverts were placed in the newspapers to encourage fishermen to settle there. 10 houses were built and some were occupied by fishermen who left Boatlea settled here around 1803.

Although there were plenty of fish to be caught there was no longer an ideal location to beach fishing boats. there were only a few creeks between the rocks and these could only be used in relatively fair weather. Due to the limited fishing opportunities the fishermen apparently spent a lot of time catching rabbits, working on crofts and plundering the frequent wrecks around their coast.  

In the late 1830s several fishing families are recorded as leaving Botany and moving to the new village of Burnhaven. In the 1841 census there are no fishermen living in Botany. There were only 2 families, of farm workers, and an old woman and 7 of the houses lay empty.

Further addverts in the papers may have helped bring new fishermen to the village. Three fishermen came from Cairnbulg and one from Charlestown in the early 1840s. Fishing continued at a very low level and with little success for the rest of the 19th century. At least one of the fishermen worked for spells on whaling ships to subsidise his income. The last inhabitants died off or left by the mid 20th century and the houses became ruined. Some of the houses were demolished leaving only piles of rubble - the green mounds in the photo above. (photo taken 2006)