BANFF

If you google Banff and find yourself confronted with majestic snow-covered mountains, ski runs and line-dancing saloons, you've got the wrong Banff: this is the Banff in the Canadian Rockies. The Scottish town from whence the New World version got its name is a very different proposition: once one of the most important ports in medieval Scotland, now a gracious seaside town with a mix of architectural styles separated from its neighbour Macduff by a seven arched bridge built by John Smeaton, a name we last encountered in Plymouth with Smeaton's Tower. In 1700 a kind of Scottish version of Robin Hood called James MacPherson was hanged in Banff following a robbery rampage during which he targetted only the rich.

On the outskirts of town, in the Deveron Valley, is the 18th century Duff House, a stately Georgian pile designed by William Adam and nowadays functioning as an art gallery, with paintings and furniture on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland. Banff Museum is one of the oldest museums in Scotland and, among other treasures, displays a collection of Banff silver. The ruined parish kirk of St Mary's was rebuilt in 1471 but demolished in 1797. The aisle was spared, though, and was restored in 2001 courtesy of the Heritage Lottery Fund, since it was the burial place of the Ogilvies, one of the most important families in Banffshire. The churchyard has further tombs belonging to past townsfolk from all walks of life.

For events in Banff and the surrounding area, follow this link.

Map of the area.

Banff Harbour - geograph.org.uk - 404671. Photo by Dominic Moore, via Wikimedia Commons.

MACDUFF

The River Deveron spews into the Moray Firth at Banff Bay, where Macduff on the east side of the bay and Banff on the west side stare across at each other. The little fishing town of Macduff started off as the hamlet of Doune, although there are signs of an earlier Neolithic Celtic settlement in the area. It was James Duff, son of William, who had bought the land in 1733, who came up with the name Macduff. The hamlet grew into a town with a fishing fleet largely going after herring, although the decline of the herring stocks required a diversification into other species. Another mainstay of the economy was shipbuilding.

Marine life in modern-day Macduff is a tourist attraction as well as a source of food. The town's aquarium is a showcase for the rich and varied wildlife of the Moray Firth, while the Guide Charters boat trips offer tourists a chance to see Moray creatures such as gannets, whales and dolphins, running 3-hour trips to the RSPB site at Troup Head, which houses the only gannet colony in mainland Scotland. Meanwhile, for walkers, the Speyside Way long distance trail passes through Macduff.  The town's golf club, the Royal Tarlair, lies in an attractive coastal location.

Map of the area.

Macduff Harbour - geograph.org.uk - 861356. Photo by Anne Burgess, via Wikimedia Commons.

GAMRIE BAY: CROVIE AND GARDENSTOWN

The red sandstone cliffs of Gamrie Bay harbour two neighbouring villages: Crovie and Gardenstown. Crovie clings like a limpet to the narrow shoreline, its houses packed in so tightly that there is no room for a main street, meaning that use of a car in the village is not an option. Cars are left at the south end of the village, from where their owners are forced to walk, while for visitors there is a cliff-top car park. All that separates the line of houses from the perils of the sea is a seafront path, and the vulnerability brought about by this state of affairs was exposed on 31 January 1953 when a storm accompanied by hurricane force winds caused the village to be overwhelmed by the raging seas, destroying part of the sea defences and some of the houses, as well as the path linking Crovie to Gardenstown.

Thankfully the path, which provides a 10-minute walk from Crovie to Gardenstown, has since been replaced. Gardenstown is another dramatically located village, clinging to the steep hillside above the bay. This quaint village has a variety of galleries, shops and eateries, and this being the Moray Firth, a haven for cetaceans, there is a good chance of seeing dolphins swimming offshore. The ruined St John's Kirk, dating from 1513, is said to occupy the site of an older church which was built to commemorate a victory over the Danes in 1004.

Map of the area.

Gardenstown from the Sea. Photo by Anne Burgess, via Wikimedia Commons.

PENNAN

Pennan had its moment on the world's stage in 1983, after it was chosen as one of a number of beautiful locations used in the hit film Local Hero, which told the story of a rich Americal oil company's efforts to buy a small Scottish town - named Ferness in the film. I watched the film again just the other day for the first time in years, and it was still as good as ever - a little dated maybe, but still full of charm and a mischievous humour.

One of the pivotal features of the film was the local telephone kiosk; this was in the days before mobile phones, and much was made of the main character's attempts to cobble together a huge amount of coins in order to phone his boss back in Texas. The actual kiosk was not used in the film, being in poor condition, so a mockup was made. However, the real kiosk is still there, although not in quite the same location, and many people have turned up there to have their photograph taken next to it. Anyone visiting Pennan and hoping to find the beautifully located church which featured in the film will be disappointed: this was filmed in another location entirely, on the west coast. Also, you will not be able to visit the film's hotel for a drink; a normal house was used for the exterior scenes of the hotel in the film, although there is an inn in the village.

Pennan is a bright, whitewashed little village nestling precariously at the base of a cliff, looking rather vulnerable to the often stormy seas which come crashing onto the pebble beach, and accessed by a narrow road leading down to the village's only street. The little harbour is mostly used for leisure purposes nowadays, with just a couple of fishing boats. The village is not just in danger from the sea; in 2007 there was a mudslide which damaged some of the buildings including the village hall.

Map of the area.

Pennan - geograph.org.uk - 684955. Photo by John Allan, via Wikimedia Commons.

ABERDOUR BAY

The red sandstone cliffs around Aberdour Bay are a riot of caves and arches, including an arch at the east end of the bay which is big enough to walk through. This stretch of coast has pathways with views to satisfy the most demanding of coastal ramblers. Just inland from the bay, the village of New Aberdour has a street lined with fishermen's cottages, while Old Aberdour has a ruined church which is one of the oldest in north Scotland, originally founded around 575 by St Columba and St Drostan, although the present church is Norman. St Drostan crops up again in the bay itself in the form of St Drostan's

Well. St Drostan used the water from the well to baptise the local people and he was famed for his miracle cures, so much so that he continued to work his magic from beyond the grave: after he died in 809 AD, his remains were brought to Aberdour and placed in a stone coffin, from where they were thought to be responsible for a number of amazing cures.

In September 2009 there were news reports of a swarm of unusual jellyfish which had shown up in the waters of Aberdour Bay. The jellyfish in question, known as the "crystal jellyfish" and distinguishable by their flashes of blue light, are normally found in the north west Pacific, so their sudden appearance off the coast of Aberdeenshire had marine biologists scratching their heads. The jellyfish were carted off to the Macduff Marine Aquarium, where they found themselves in the company of common moon jellyfish.

Map of the area.

Aberdour Bay, Aberdeenshire - geograph.org.uk - 69739. Photo by Christopher Gillan, via Wikimedia Commons.

ROSEHEARTY AND PITSLIGO CASTLE

Located on the south shore of the Moray Firth, Rosehearty was probably first settled by shipwrecked Danish fishermen in the 1300s. If you google the name Rosehearty, you might be perplexed at the appearance of Rupert Murdoch among the results. This is because he has a yacht called Rosehearty, presumably in memory of his ancestor the Australian academic Sir Walter Murdoch, who hailed from these parts. His home in New York also bears the name. Rosehearty still has an active harbour, with the appropriately named area of Fishertown bordering it, with its fishermen's cottages.

Pitsligo Castle, a short distance inland, was built by the Fraser family in 1424, and the following century was enlarged by the Forbes family. Following the Battle of Culloden, the castle was pillaged by Hanoverian troops, and it fell into a decline until the formation of the Pitsligo Castle Trust in 1995 with the aim of looking after the castle and establishing a centre in the former Pitsligo Parish Kirk to tell the story of the Jacobites and the history of Scottish heraldry.

Map of the area.

Small boats in Rosehearty Harbour - geograph.org.uk - 562433. Photo by David Hawgood, via Wikimedia Commons.

RATTRAY HEAD AND FRASERBURGH

I love stormy seas. People may think I'm mad, but one of my favourite times on the coast is when there is a storm brewing and waves are crashing wildly against the shore. So Rattray Head, with its reputation for impressive swells brought about by the nature of the its geographical position, is just my kind of place. Rattray Head is also a magnet for birdwatchers, with wading birds and Arctic skuas. There is a lighthouse here built on a tidal platform in 1895 by David Alan Stevenson. A ruined 13th century chapel, St Mary, is all that remains of Old Rattray.

Fraserburgh, or "The Broch" as it is known locally, is named after its 16th century founder, Sir Alexander Fraser, 8th Laird of Philorth. Fraser was also responsible for the building of the castle to the north of Fraserburgh, which he built as a Town House complete with a long room with a minstrel gallery, and which incorporates the Kinnaird head Lighthouse built in 1787 by Thomas Smith, which has been turned into the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, with a Heritage Centre next door. The oldest building in Fraserburgh is the intriguingly named Wine Tower which contains an impressive collection of large pendants, and which features chambers with vaulted roofs. Fraserburgh is one of the biggest fishing ports on the east coast of Scotland, and is actually situated at the mouth of the Moray Firth. In the late 1900s there were over 800 fishing boats based here, though that number has since diminished. .

For a list of events in Fraserburgh, see here.

Map of the area.

Rattray Head lighthouse, Aberdeenshire. Photo by Anne Burgess, via Wikimedia Commons.