Alford (pronounced or , ) is a large village in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, north-east

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 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 The Battle of Alford was an engagement of the Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Scottish Civil War. It took place near the village of Alford, Aberdeenshire, on 2 July 1645. During the battle, the Cavalier, Royalist general James Gra ...

(1645). It is also the home of the

Aberdeen Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scotland, Scottish List of cattle breeds, breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the Scottish counties, counties of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeen, Banffshire, Banff, ...

cattle breed, which is celebrated by a life-sized model of a bull on the edge of the village, which the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

inaugurated in 2001. It is believed 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 attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

s, with a range of other archaeological sites, stone circles, and castles (including Balfluig Castle, Castle Fraser and

Drum Castle Drum Castle is a castle near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. For centuries it was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine. The place-name Drum is derived from Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic ''druim'', 'ridge'. The site is located approximately northea ...

) also nearby. One stone circle, originally believed to be prehistoric, turned out to be a 20-year-old replica.

Sport

Alford Golf Club opened on 15 May 1981. Initially a nine-hole course, it reopened as an eighteen-hole course in May 1992.

Public transport

Alford railway station was the former terminus of the closed Alford Valley Railway branch line. There is a bus service connecting with

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, approximately away. There is much new housebuilding going on in Alford to cater for a workforce who mainly commute in Aberdeen to work in the oil industry. Bus services are operated by

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

, with dial-a-bus services being operated by

Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire Council is the local authority for Aberdeenshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since its creation in 1996. It is based at Woodhill House, which is outside its own territory ...

. Bus services connecting Alford to Aberdeen go by two different routes: *the 218 goes via Westhill *the X20 goes via Kintore and

Kemnay Kemnay may refer to: * Kemnay, Manitoba, a community in Canada *Kemnay, Aberdeenshire Kemnay (Scottish Gaelic language, Gaelic: ''Camnaidh'') is a village west of Aberdeen in Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The village name ''Kemna ...

Notable residents

* Alford is the birthplace of the renowned poet, Charles Murray * Stewart Milne, chairman of both the Stewart Milne Group and Aberdeen Football Club was born nearby and attended school in Alford * John Forbes, minister exiled by James VI * Lord Forbes, of Forbes Castle * William McCombie, pioneer

breeder * Laura Main, actress in

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé ( ; previously Gouraguine; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a British singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Sandé rose t ...

, award-winning singer/songwriter. * Dougie Gray, Rangers F.C. fullback * William Minto, critic and novelist

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Aberdeenshire