Peterhead Fraserburgh
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Peterhead
Thirty miles north of Aberdeen is the harsh, uncompromising town of Peterhead, Europe's busiest white-fish port. Fish is Peterhead's raison d'être and everything revolves around its huge harbour. Local fishermen have not been having it so good in recent years, however, as North Sea fish stocks have become dangerously depleted and EU quotas have threatened livelihoods. The town's alternative sources of income are the power station and the high-security prison.
Peterhead may not be the most appealing prospect, but the town is rightly proud of its seafaring heritage. The Peterhead Maritime Heritage Museum is housed in an attractive new building on South Road. It tells the story of the whaling and fishing industries and depicts the life and times of the townsfolk through a series of interactive displays and a video presentation. Tel. 473000. Apr-Oct Mon-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700; Nov-Mar Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1200-1600.
At the north end of town on Golf Road, at the mouth of the River Ugie, is the Ugie Fish House, Scotland's oldest working fish house. Salmon and trout have been smoked here since 1585 and you can still see traditional methods being employed, and then purchase the finished product. Tel. 476209. All year Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 0900-1200. Free.
Nine miles west of town at Mintlaw, is the Aden Country Park (pronounced 'Ah-den'). It's a great place for kids, with numerous walks around the estate, various organized activities and events, and the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, which features a semi-circular farmstead built in the early 19th century and a working farm dating from the 1950s. Tel. 01771-622906. May-Sep daily 1100-1700; Apr and Oct weekends only 1200-1630. Free. Bus No 286 daily to and from Peterhead.
Sleeping and Eating
There's no tourist office in town, but the best place to stay is the modern Waterside Inn, Tel. 471121, on the road heading out of town to Fraserburgh, by the River Ugie.
A cheaper option is Carrick Guesthouse, Tel. 470610, at 16 Merchant St.
A good fish and chip shop is the Dolphin, on Alexandra Par by the harbour.
Transport
Bluebird Buses, Tel. 01224-212266, run every 30 mins (Mon-Sat; every hour on Sun) from Aberdeen, via Ellon (No 260) and Cruden Bay (No 263).
Phone code: +44 (0)1779
Fraserburgh
Eighteen miles north of Peterhead, at the very northeastern tip of the northeast coast, is the hardy, windswept fishing town of Fraserburgh. At the northern tip of the town is Kinnaird Head Castle and Lighthouse, which now houses Scotland's Lighthouse Museum. This bizarre structure started out as a 16th-century castle which was then converted by the Northern Lighthouse Company in 1787 into one of mainland Scotland's first lighthouses. The museum offers a truly fascinating illumination of the engineering skill and innovation involved in the design and workings of the lighthouse, with displays of the huge lenses and prisms, as well as a history of the Stevenson family (Robert Louis' father and grandfather) who designed many of Scotland's lighthouses. The highlight is the guided tour to the top of Kinnaird Head Lighthouse itself. Apr-Oct Mon-Sat 1000-1800, Sun 1200-1800; Nov-Mar till 1600. Tel. 511022.
The Tourist Information Centre is at 3 Saltoun Square. Tel. 518315. Apr-Jun and Sep Mon-Sat 1000-1300 and 1400-1700; Jul-Aug Mon-Sat 1000-1300 and 1400-1800, Sun 1300-1700.
Sleeping and Eating
Accommodation is fairly thin on the ground. There's the Saltoun Arms Hotel, Tel. 518282; or B&B at Clifton House, 131 Charlotte St, Tel. 518365. There's also a campsite 5 miles west of town at Rosehearty, which has a good beach.
The best place to eat is Findlays, at Smiddyhill Rd and Boothby Rd, for good fish and Aberdeen Angus steaks.
Eat in the Lighthouse Museum restaurant for the wonderful surroundings.
Transport
Bluebird Buses, Tel. 01224-212266, run regular buses to and from Aberdeen, via Mintlaw, and Peterhead. There are also buses to Banff via Pennan and Gardenstown (No 273; Mon-Sat).
Pennan, Crovie & Gardenstown
Between Fraserburgh and Macduff/Banff lies a trio of charming little coastal villages, clinging hungrily to the sea cliffs like babies to their mothers' breasts. The most easterly is Pennan, which shot to fame in 1982 when the hit British movie Local Hero was filmed here. The tiny hamlet lies just off the road, at the foot of a very steep hill, and consists of little more than a row of neat, whitewashed cottages, bravely challenging the North Sea. The only place to eat and sleep is the cheap and cosy Pennan Inn, Tel. 01346-561201.
A few miles west, on the other side of Troup Head, is the equally lovely little fishing village of Gardenstown (or Gamrie, pronounced 'Game-ree'), whose streets are so precipitous you almost need to be roped up to get around on foot, never mind trying to drive a car. You can also sleep here, at The Palace Farm, Tel. 01261-851261, March-Nov; or Bankhead Croft, Tel. 01261-851584, both of which provide dinner. A stone's throw away is the even tinier village of Crovie (pronounced 'Crivvie'), which is so narrow its residents have to walk sideways.
Self Catering Cottages in Crovie
- 30 Crovie Sleeps 6
- Crovie Village Sleeps 4
- Crovie Sleeps 4
Self Catering Cottages in Pennan
- The Laurels Sleeps 6