Boatlea was the name given to a fishing village that lay about a kilometre south of St Combs. Its official name was the Seatown of Corskelly. It was abandonned by the early 1800s and no sign of it now remains.  

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Boatlea was certainly in existence prior to 1668. Its population is listed in the 1696 Poll Book as 11 fishing families. The village is peculiar due to its distance from the sea. It lies about a half mile from the shore and used an exposed inlet, the South Cample, as its harbour. Although exposed this was the only option for the laird of the Lonmay estate who would want to profit from fishing like the other estates around him. It is recorded as having 5 boats and 2 yoalls in 1730.

The distance of the village from the sea has led to speculation that the inhabitants were farmer/fishermen. There is not proof of this but it certainly possible that the settlement started off as a farming community that gradually turned, almost entirely, to fishing.

When you consider the distance it is not much more than that from Cairnbulg to the West Haven or from St Combs to the Kittyloch or Cample, their main havens. However, these villages had the option to pull the boats up on the shore behind their houses in good weather.

In 1795 the estate of Lonmay was bought by Charles Gordon of Cairness. He now had 2 fishing villages on his estate - perhaps 1 too many? Ffishermen were encouraged to move to his other village, St Combs, and so by the early 1800s the village of Boatlea was abandoned. Stone from its houses have been taken for use elsewhere with the foundations being finally cleared in the late 1940s. No visible trace now exists of Boatlea.

Since its abandonment its haven, the South Cample, has been partially overrun by sand. This wasn't the cause of the villages downfall and perhaps some confusion with the fate of Rattray have led to such stories about the demise of Boatlea.