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Towns + Villages
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Portsoy
Portsoy is a popular village thanks to its vibrant trademark festival and picturesque 17th century harbour.
Over two days, each summer, the town of Portsoy stages the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival welcoming thousands of visitors every year! It places special emphasis on boat building, restoration and sailing, but it also showcases a wide range of arts, crafts, music and food.
Portsoy is also renowned for its marble – polished red and green serpentine – which has been used in grand mansions and castles all over the world; most notably the Palace of Versailles.
The old Portsoy harbour is distinctive with the horizontal walls rather than vertical stone, these echo the natural rock formations along this stretch of coastline!
The ‘new harbour’ was built in 1825 to accommodate the growing herring fleet and although only a few small boats now work out of the harbour, the town is still synonymous with fine seafood.
It’s also famed for another culinary delight - ice cream! Portsoy Ice Cream is a real gem! Sample all the flavours, or something a little different - champagne or strawberry daiquiri sorbet or how about condensed milk flavour?
You can find out more about the history of salmon fishing, boatbuilding and local people at the The Salmon Bothy museum. And it is also in the Salmon Bothy that you will find a local club which organises a range of music events, including Open Mic' Nights and folk performances!
Looking to be inspired to visit Portsoy? Whisky Galore! was filmed on location in Portsoy, and tells the true story of an incident that took place on the island of Eriskay when the SS Politician ran aground with a cargo including 28,000 cases of malt whisky.
Getting There
Head north from Aberdeen by car via the A947. There is an available bus route operated by Stagecoach.