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Gardenstown, Banffshire Coast

I think that the new slogan on the "Welcome to Aberdeenshire" signs is very appropriate, "from the mountains to the sea, the very best of Scotland." The area around Balmoral Castle, Royal Deeside, the location of the British monarchs Summer residence, is the most popular area with visitors and I can't write a guide to Aberdeenshire without acknowledging this lovely area but there is a lot more to do and see if you venture, even slightly, off the beaten path. I'd recommend that you travel further north and visit the Banffshire Coast.

The local tourist board is calling the Banffshire Coast, the coastal stretch between Pennan in the east to Cullen to the west, “Scotland’s best kept secret” and “Scotland’s treasure”. After my recent trip to the area I think of it more as “The Neglected North”. I say this for two reasons, it is overlooked by visitors in the north east who are more likely to stay on the main inland road between Aberdeen and Inverness or stick the better known Royal Deeside area of Aberdeenshire. Also the area is pretty run down in some parts, particularly around Banff and Macduff. Even Pennan, the location of filming of the 1980s "Local Hero" the best know place on the coast line is pretty quiet. I've visited twice in the couple of years, once in January and once in September and only seen a couple of other visitors.

Pennan

Duff House was designed by William Adam and constructed between 1735 - 1740 as the home of the Earls of Fife. It is now a country gallery run by a partnership of Historic Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council and the National Galleries of Scotland. There is an admission charge.

The house has a chequered history. The 1st Earl of Fife, the wealthy William Duff, desired a fitting seat but didn’t like it when it came down to paying the bills. As building costs soared the Earl fell out with his architect, William Adam, and Duff house was not completed according the original plans. The whole saga ended with a court case and the premature death of the Earl.

The house was owned by the Earls of Fife until 1906 and had various uses such as hotel, sanatorium and 2nd World War prisoner of war camp before being opened as a gallery in 1995.

There are several marked woodland walks around the grounds, including one along the River Deveron, a large children's playground, ample parking, a tearoom and a shop.

Macduff lies just east of Banff, on the other side of the River Deveron. The Macduff Marine Aquarium focuses on local marine life. Minkie Whales and dolphins are regulary spotted along the coast. You can walk up to the octagonal war memorial built by two local retired stonemasons in honour of the dead of the First World War, The whtie Parish Church is a landmark in its elevated position to the west of Macduff. It was built in 1805 but the Italian style tower and cupola were added in 1865 under the direction of Aberdeen architect James Matthew.

Where to stay Banffshire

The Fife Lodge Hotel in Banff offers double rooms from £40 a night, They also have a self catering bungalow available in their grounds. I was told by locals that the food served here is very good.

The Station Hotel is a traditional hotel in Portsoy offering double rooms from £70 per night.

Harbour View House is in the pretty coastal village of Portsoy. It's a 1880s Victorian villa a double rooms cost from £50 a night. It's highly rated in guest reviews.

The view from the Cullen Bay Hotel is wonderful. A double room with seaview costs from £90 a night.

The Forvie National Reserve lies on the Ythan Estuary just outside Newburgh, around 20 miles north of Aberdeen. The area is even dubbed the “Northern Sahara” due to all of the sand left after the last ice age around 15,000 years ago. The present dunes are thought to be around 2000 years old. The mud flats in the estuary are home to many types of marine life and birds.

There was a village here in the past which disappeared under sand in the 15th century, Local folklore lays this blame of this occurrence on Forvie’s Curse, where according to local folklore, three sisters were set adrift in a leaky boat so that they could not inherit. The sisters placed a curse on Forvie, saying the it should only contain thistle and sand. The curse resulted in a fierce storm which covered the village in sand.

Pitfour Observatory was built in 1845 by the fifth Laird of Pitfour, Admiral Sir George Ferguson, so that he and his guests could watch horse racing. The Laird had constructed a four and a half mile race course to indulge his passion for horse racing, without having to leave his own estate. The race course was exactly 50 feet wide and level, with all troughs levelled with rock from local quarries. The course was nicknamed the “Ascot of the North”.

The Observatory was purchased and renovated in the 1990s by the local authority. It’s open daily 10 - 17 from May to September and it’s free of charge to enter. There are great panoramic views from the windows in the octagonal tower, with information boards detailing all the local landmarks.

The Observatory is fairly well sign posted from the the A952 running between Mintlaw and Fraserburgh and the A950 west of Mintlaw. If you are following the signs from the A950 make sure you take the first, sharp left, a mile or so at the 2nd junction once you’ve left the A950. The sign isn’t clear there, as there are 2 left turns If you drive past a graveyard you have taken the wrong turn. There’s a large car park with picnic benches. It only takes a few minutes to walk to the conservatory There are several possible walks in the woods and you can also visit the Louden Wood Stone Circle and a chambered cairn but this involves a much longer walk.

Fraserburgh is situated on the north east coast of Aberdeenshire, It has a lovely beach, looking at its best when I visited on a sunny afternoon. Fraserburgh is the largest shellfish port in Europe, the harbour is situated behind the lighthouse in the photo below.

You can visit the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, where you can climb the castle tower to the original lighthouse. This was the first lighthouse constructed on mainland Scotland in 1787 and unique in being the only lighthouse to be built on top of a castle.