What's on in Banffshire

Banffshire and the Banffshire coast offer some of the most unspoilt and undisturbed natural beauty in all of Great Britain. Banffshire’s arresting coastline is dotted with hundreds of ancient fishing villages that seem to have sidestepped modern development and the modern age and preserved a way of life not seen anywhere else in the UK. A lieutenancy of Scotland and a registration county, Banffshire was a largely Catholic area after the Reformation in the sixteenth century and saw its fair share of bloodshed in the wars of the three kingdoms. Unsurprisingly then, it is a landscape that is packed with old and desolate ruins, from multiple medieval castles to the splendid 12th century kirk of Gamrie, all of them worth a visit. Banffshire is bordered by Aberdeenshire to the south, Moray and Inverness-shire to the west and Moray Firth to the North.

Avoiding the ills of modern development could be the reason that Banffshire is home to abundant wildlife, sea-life and birdlife and welcomes everything from whales, dolphins and porpoises as well as gannets and puffins. This is a region that is all about the land itself, and a coastline that demands a sharp intake of breath on first viewing. From way-marked cliff-top walks to picnics spent watching dolphins frolic in the distance and from whale watching to canoeing to having an entire beach to yourself, Banffshire is quite exceptional and a truly wondrous place.