Alford, Aberdeenshire

Alford
Alford is located in Aberdeenshire
Alford
Alford
Location within Aberdeenshire
Population2,610 (2022)[4]
OS grid referenceNJ5716
• Edinburgh90 mi (145 km)
• London409 mi (658 km)
Council area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAlford
Postcode districtAB33
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
57°14′N 2°43′W / 57.23°N 02.71°W / 57.23; -02.71

Alford (pronounced /ˈɑːfərd/ ⓘ  Scots: Aaford or Awfort, Scottish Gaelic: Athfort) is a large village in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland, lying just south of the River Don. It lies within the Howe of Alford (also called the Vale of Alford) which occupies the middle reaches of the River Don.

The "L" sound in the place-name has, over time, been dropped, and is silent. Alford gave its name to a battle of the Battle of Alford (1645). It is also the home of the Aberdeen Angus cattle breed, which is celebrated by a life-sized model of a bull on the edge of the village, which the Queen Mother inaugurated in 2001.[5] It is believed[by whom?] that the original breeding ground of the cattle was Buffal, located between Tough (Tulloch) and Craigievar nearby Alford.

The Alford Valley Railway, Grampian Transport Museum, Alford Heritage Museum and Craigievar Castle are visitor attractions, with a range of other archaeological sites, stone circles, and castles (including Balfluig Castle, Castle Fraser and Drum Castle) also nearby. One stone circle, originally believed to be prehistoric, turned out to be a 20-year-old replica.[6]

  1. ^ "Rannsaich an Stòr-dàta Briathrachais Gàidhlig" (in Scottish Gaelic). .smo.uhi.ac.uk. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  2. ^ Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots
  3. ^ The Online Scots Dictionary[permanent dead link].
  4. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  5. ^ Davies, Caroline (11 October 2001). "Queen Mother helps to unveil statue of a bull". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  6. ^ Metcalfe, Tom (21 January 2019). "'Ancient' Stone Circle Actually Built in 1990s by Scottish Farmer". Live Science. Retrieved 24 January 2019.