Portsoy is a welcoming small town, with a lot going on for it’s size. It has a fantastic sense of community, with the caravan park, the 4 star Salmon Bothy museum, the Sail Loft Bunkhouse and the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival all being run by the community for the community. It is centred around it’s 2 historic seventeenth and nineteenth century harbours, the area little changed in years: it was used as the film setting for the recent remake of Whisky Galore and last series of Peaky Blinders. The fishing industry has largely moved on, but you can often see the town’s two St Ayles skiffs rowing out from the harbour.
There are some fantastic walks round Portsoy! If you walk westwards, past the old swimming pool carved out amongst the rocks, along the rugged coastline towards Sandend (pronounced ‘Sanine’) or further along to Findlater Castle, Sunnyside Beach and Cullen. Eastwards try the Coastguard’s path, with views across to Troups’ Head. There is the Shore Inn between the cottage and the harbours, some great cafes and the new Aspire Restaurant… and of course the award winning Portsoy Ice Cream shop.
The Banffshire coast is one of the world’s outstanding coastlines, says the National Geographic. Natural beauty combines with plentiful wildlife – there are dolphins, seals, puffins and other seabirds in abundance, if you are lucky enough to see them. Fishing villages all along the coast perch on clifftops, or crouch precariously at the water’s edge, with the oldest houses built gable-end on to the weather and the waves. In the summer, the light up here is special, days are near endless. Winter skies are dark and starry and – with a bit of luck – you might even see the Northern Lights! We hope you will visit Portsoy and discover this often overlooked, largely midge free corner of the North East of Scotland for yourselves!