Out and About

There is so much to do around Mill of Nethermill!

The gallery below gives you a flavour of the local area, click on a thumbnail to view an enlargement.

Photo Gallery

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Local Events:

Macduff Farmers Market – Last Saturday of the month located at the Fishmarket at Macduff Harbour

Turriff Farmers Market – 3rd Saturday of the month located at Turriff & District Producers Market, High Street Car Park

Deveron Fishing Festival Turriff – exact dates 2013 TBA (last year’s dates 30 April to 2 May 2012) – fishing festival on the banks of the river Deveron.

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival various distilleries around Speyside – 2 to 6 May 2013

Portsoy Folk Festival Portsoy – 24 to 26 May 2013.  If you love folk music, then this is the place to be.

Coast Festival Banff – 24 to 26 May 2013.   Visual arts festival that covers the twin villages of Banff and Macduff.  Duff House normally has free admission during this time.

Cornhill Highland Games – 1 June 2013.

Taste of Grampian, Thainstone in Inverurie - 1 June 2013. A one-day food and drink festival. This popular annual event allows visitors to discover and sample the wide range of high quality food and drink products from Grampian in the north east of Scotland.

Scottish Traditional Boat Festival Portsoy – 22 & 23 June 2013.  Fun festival that takes over Portsoy’s historic harbor.  Really enjoyable & not to be missed.

Banff Castle History Festival Banff – TBA July 2013.  New festival with costumed re-enactments planned.

Welcome to Seabird City – 9 July 2013 / TBC.  RSPB will be running a series of ‘Welcome To Seabird City’ events at Troup Head over the summer, both on reserve and in partnership with Macduff Marine Aquarium.

Peterhead Scottish Week – 20 to 28 July 2013.

Turriff Show, Turriff – 4 August to 5 August 2013.  Turriff Show is the largest annual event to be held in Aberdeenshire and is the largest two-day Show in Scotland. The Show is now regarded as the main shop window for the promotion of agriculture and the food industry in the north east of Scotland.

Keith Country Show – 11 & 12 August 2013

Aden Country Park Pipe Competition – 18 August 2013

North East Open Studios (NEOS) all over North East Scotland – TBA Sept 2013.   An award winning, not for profit collective of artists, makers and galleries in the North East of Scotland who open their doors to the public yearly.

Doors Open Days Scotland 2012 – Doors Open Days give you free access to hundreds of fascinating buildings across Scotland.  Every weekend in September you can explore places that are normally closed to the public.  Some open up once a year, some just once in a lifetime…

Golf Courses:

Royal Tarlair Golf Course, Macduff – Cliff-top parkland course with breath taking scenery.  Don’t miss the 13th hole, the “Clivet”, a hole that every golfer just has to experience.

Duff House Royal Golf Course, Banff –  An 18 hole, par 70, parkland course located near Banff

Rosehearty Golf Course, Rosehearty – 9 hole parkland course with panoramic views of the Moray Firth.

Fraserburgh Golf Course, Fraserburgh – Traditional Scottish Links Golf and is the 7th Oldest Club in the World Est. 1777.

Turriff Golf Club, Turriff – An 18 hole course situated in rural Aberdeenshire.

Oldmeldrum Golf Club, Oldmeldrum – A par 70 course, measuring just over 6,000 yards, it presents a varied and challenging test of golf for all standards.

Cruden Bay Golf Club, Cruden Bay – Set against a backdrop of subtly contoured greens and magnificent panoramic views, the course truly justifies its world Top 100 ranking.

Trump International Golf Course, Balmedie – The development will comprise a world class championship links golf course suitable for hosting major international events and a second 18-hole links golf course.  Not yet open – check website for updates.

Historic Buildings and Gardens:

Aden Country Park & Farming Museum, Mintlaw – Aden Country Park has been recognised as one of the country’s best green spaces with a prestigious Green Flag award.  The Aberdeenshire Farming Museum is in a semi-circular Home Farm steading.  Explore the Aden Estate Story, the “Weel Vrocht Grun” exhibitions, and visit Hareshowe, a working farm set in the 1950s:

Balvenie Castle is right across the street from Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown.

Boyne Castle – ruined castle & very overgrown & crumbly.  Turn towards the Boyndie Visitor center, go past that, & take your first left to a minor road that parallels the coast.  You will come to a fork in the road, & park in the grass at that junction.  Take the road that goes right & is downhill.  When you reach a gate (not far).  Climb over, continue through a field, climb over another gate, & Boyne Castle is not far.

Cairness House Lonmay near Fraserburgh – Cairness House dates back to the neoclassical period and is in the process of being carefully restored in order to return the beautiful architecture to its former glory.  Visitors can enjoy the architecture along with the collection of fine furniture, works of art and stunning grounds.

Craigston Castle near Turriff – still a family home & only open once a year to visitors or by appointment only.
Castle Fraser

Duff House in Banff – Country house with antique furnishing & an art gallery.

Delgatie Castle just before you get to Turriff – Lovely old gothic castle just like the ones you would see in a scarey movie.

Eden Castle near Banff – photogenic ruin located about 3.5 miles from Banff.

Fyvie Castle & gardens – Run by the National Trust, this castle is a must on your list.

Findlater Castle – ruined castle between Portsoy & Cullen.  It is sign posted, but sometimes hard to find.

Gight Castle & Woods near Fyvie – lovely walk with the ruined castle along the way.

Huntly Castle in Huntly – beautiful ruined castle that is taken care of by Historic Scotland.  There are 4 stories to explore, along with a Bake House, Brewery, & Dungeon.

Inchdrewer Castle near Banff – Privately owned castle by Count Robin de la Miirlees who lives & owns on the Isle of Barra.  Castle has set unoccupied since he did some renovations in the 1970’s.

King Edward Castle -  Take the Turriff road to King Edward.  When you see Castleton Farm, slow down because you will need to turn right & park in the car park.  Walk across the street towards the pond walk .  The castle is across a picturesque old bridge & up the dirt road to the left.

Lighthouse Museum Fraserburgh – Award winning museum about lighthouses and the men who lived & died guarding Scotland’s coastline.

Pitmedden Garden near Ellon – Grade “A” listed garden.  Sir Alexander Seton is credited with founding the Garden in 1675.

Portsoy Salmon Bothy , Portsoy – The Salmon Bothy is owned and run by the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival. It comprises a museum housed in what were the ice chambers which displays artifacts and information about Portsoy’s harbours, the industry and trade and the Salmon Fishing operations.  Admission is Free.

Local Walks:

Great walks on either side of the Tore Burn.  There is even an auld burial site that has caused huge winter storms when disturbed.  Depending on how shy the animals are, you could see badgers, foxes, deer, rabbits, and loads of cows & sheep.

Fort Fiddes, Cullykhan Bay, and Hell’s Lum – If you walk out the the tip of Fort Fiddes, you can look back at Mill of Nethermill and the beach.  If you are even more adventurous & physically fit, you can climb above Hell’s Lum to see some fantastic coastal cliff scenery.

Lovely walks in area such as the one to St. John’s Kirkyard and to the village of Crovie.  Gardenstown website has a downloadable PDF leaflet for 5 walks round Gardenstown.

New Aberdour beach has a lovely sandy beach with sea caves.

Macduff has a lovely walk starting at the Harbour and continuing around the perimeter of the village.

Banff is nice to walk around & look at the Georgian Architecture.  Some of the best streets to walk around would be:   High Street, Low Shore, Back Path, Straight Path, High Shore, Old Castle Gate, George Street, and then down to the Harbour area.

Wrack wood walk in the Duff House grounds.  Has on old gothic mausoleum.  If you continue on the path past the mausoleum for about a mile, you will come to the Bridge of Alvah which is in a gorgeous setting.

You can walk from Banff to Whitehills along the beach & coastline. Very nice.

The village of Cullen has some lovely walks along the old rail viaduct and down to the old fishing harbor.  There is also a nice wooded walk back to the Cullen House every Tuesday & Friday from 1:30 – 4:30 pm

Nature & Wildlife:

RSBP Troup Head near Pennan – Fantastic bird nature reserve.  Filled with all sorts of sea birds – Gannets, Puffins, Guillemots, and Razorbills.  Though perhaps best seen from the sea, there is a short walk which visits the clifftop overlooking the gannets’ nests.  RSPB members get free entry to the Macduff Marine Aquarium on Tuesdays from April-September. During this time, there will be a live camera link from the reserve at Troup Head, showing great footage of the nesting gannets and other seabirds.

North 58 Sea Adventures Banff – Join North 58° Sea Adventures, and the powerboat Buchaneer, for an exhilarating tour of the Moray Firth coastline and a fantastic wildlife watching experience.

Macduff Marine Aquarium Macduff – Award winning marine aquarium which features marine life from the Moray Firth, Scotland’s largest bay, in a variety of exciting and innovative exhibits.

Star Gazing– very little light pollution so star gazing can be done easily with the naked eye.  Who knows you might even see the Aurora Borealis.  Aurora Borealis is entering the liveliest stage of its 11-year cycle. And
that means eerie hues of green and purple could be dancing over us several times a month. Our chances of seeing a display are increasing; solar activity goes in cycles of roughly 11 years, and the current cycle is set to peak next winter. It is possible to predict when an aurora will occur – to an extent.
Sunspots indicate activity on the sun and there are websites which allow anyoneto follow the “kp index”. It measures solar flares. If it exceedsfive, there may well be activity in mid or northern Scotland.

Dolphin & whale watching from the shore along with seals and otters.

Huntly Falconry Centre, Huntly – bird of prey falconry demonstrations throughout the season, where owls, hawks, falcons and eagles can be seen flying every day.

Willows Animal Sanctuary and Cafe, Strichen – Open Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 5pm last admission 4pm from 23 April to end October

Shopping:   Antiques, collectables, other

Lynash Antiques in Banff – Near Tesco / open Thursday to Sunday & whenever you see the bicycle out front.

East Side Shopping in Banff (near Tesco) – Also known as the “Spotty Bag Shop”.  Clothes to household goods & everything in-between!

Abra Antiques in Cullen – vintage textiles, books, jewelry, and nic-nacs

Bookends in Portsoy – Old books.  On the main road & open all the time.  There is an antique store right next to it also.

Bits & Bobs in Cullen – in the Square

Bert Fowlie Family Butcher - First class butcher and more ! Located in nearby Strichen

Celebrations in Turriff – high quality furnishings & nic-nacs along with a nice café.

Cullen Collectables – On the street just past the square.  Not sure of hours, but open quite a lot.

Watergaw Ceramics, Chapel St., Whitehills – Beautiful handmade pottery with a luster finish.  Open Monday to Sat. 10 am – 5 pm

Portsoy Marble at the harbour in Portsoy

Water Activities:

All of the following can been done at the shore of Mill of Nethermill:

Kayaking
Diving
Fishing
Creels
Explores caves & numerous tidal pools
Rock Hop to Pennan (very carefully)

Fishing in the area:

Fishing the Deveron www.fishthedeveron.co.uk for salmon and trout

Fishing off of the piers at Gardenstown and Macduff for mackereal

Fishing at Delgatie Castle www.fishingthefly.co.uk/delgatie-castle-fishery.html

Whisky Distilleries:

Grampian is known for its Malt Whisky Trail with numerous number of distilleries in this area.  The following are just a few around us:

Glenglassaugh Distillery near Portsoy – reopened in 2008 and has award winning “New Spirit” available for purchase.

Speyside Cooperage in Craigelleichie – Really interesting tour on how they make whiskey casks.

Glenfiddich Distillery – Free; Open Monday to Friday 9:30 am to 4:30 am

Auctions & Car Boot sales:

Elgin Saturday Market, Elgin – smaller car boot sale with Flea market type stalls inside

Thainstone Sunday Market, Inverurie – Large car boot sale held every Sunday

Strichen Auctions – held once a month on a Wednesday evening.  Details are normally posted in the Press & Journal.

Elgin Antique Auction – Held quarterly on a Wednesday afternoon / evening/