Macduff, Aberdeenshire

This article is about a town in Scotland. For the fictional Shakespearean character, Macduff, see Macduff (Macbeth).
Macduff
Scottish Gaelic: An Dùn

Macduff harbour
Macduff
 Macduff shown within Aberdeenshire
Population 3,767 [1] (2001 census)
est. 3,800[2] (2006)
OS grid referenceNJ704646
Council areaAberdeenshire
Lieutenancy areaBanffshire
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town MACDUFF
Postcode district AB44
Dialling code 01261
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentBanff and Buchan
Scottish ParliamentBanffshire and Buchan Coast
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 57°40′16″N 2°29′49″W / 57.671°N 2.497°W / 57.671; -2.497

Macduff (Gaelic An Dùn) is a town in the Banff and Buchan area Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is situated on Banff Bay and faces the town of Banff across the estuary of the River Deveron. Macduff is a former burgh and is now the only place in the United Kingdom where deep-water wooden fishing boats are still built.[3]

History

The settlement of Doune (from Scottish Gaelic dùn, "hill fort") on the east bank of the river was purchased in 1733 by William Duff, who became the first Earl Fife. In 1760, James Duff, the second Earl built a harbour there and in 1783 succeeded in promoting Macduff to a Burgh of Barony. The 2nd Earl Fife appointed his factor, William Rose, as the 1st Provost of Macduff in 1783. The town celebrated its bicentenary in 1983, and the signs erected in that year still stand on the main approaches to the town (most visibly, a large sign next to the Banff Bridge on the Macduff side).

Banff and Macduff are separated by the valley of the River Deveron. This unpredictable river was finally tamed by the seven arched bridge completed in 1799 by John Smeaton. An earlier bridge had been built in 1765, but was swept away in 1768. The old ferry was brought back into use, until it was lost in a flood in 1773. Early area prehistory is manifested by the nearby ancient monument at Longman Hill, a large long barrow[4] somewhat to the southeast of Macduff

Attractions

The town has an aquarium, a maritime heritage centre and a golf course (Royal Tarlair). COAST Festival of the Visual Arts is an annual festival of weekend-long events and attractions in both Banff and Macduff. It runs over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May each year. The town once had an outdoor swimming pool Tarlair Swimming Pool which has fallen into disuse. Locals on the Facebook social network site have created a group to begin the fight to "Save Tarlair". Many of the nearby villages also contribute to tourism in the area; in particular Gardenstown and Pennan.

Lifeboat

Macduff has an RNLI lifeboat station which is equipped with an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat, Lydia Macdonald. The Macduff lifeboat is unique within the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, being the only inshore lifeboat that is stored on, launched and recovered from a LGV fitted with its own crane. This allows the lifeboat to be launched and recovered from different locations along the coast should the need arise.

Railways

Macduff was served from 1860 by the Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Railway, later absorbed by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) which at first ran to Banff & Macduff station, almost a mile from the town. In 1872 the line to Banff & Macduff station benefited from a replacement station closer to the town centre; Macduff railway station opened, and the original station closed on 1 July 1872. The preceding station before the terminus in Macduff was Banff Bridge railway station, placed near the bridge between Banff and Macduff. Banff itself was served by another station, Banff Harbour (later just Banff), and since this was on a separate line (originally belonging to the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway, though later absorbed by the GNSR), it also provided an alternative route that came close to Macduff.

All the lines suffered from mid-20th century railway cuts, with Macduff station closing by the end of 1961.

Boatyard in Macduff
The sea life centre

Sport

Macduff has a golf course known as Royal Tarlair which was built on land which ends on precipitous cliffs so lost balls really are lost. Macduff is also undergoing the construction of the new Myrus Pavilion.

See also

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ "Comparative Population Profile: Macduff Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 2001-04-29. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  2. ↑ http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data
  3. ↑ "Coast". 1. 2010-03-10. 15 minutes in. Blighty.
  4. ↑ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Longman Hill, The Modern Antiquarian
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