Gourdon () nicknamed Gurdin by the population, is a coastal

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland, south of

Inverbervie Inverbervie (from gd, Inbhir Biorbhaidh or ''Biorbhaigh'', "mouth of the River Bervie") is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven. Etymology The name ''Inverbervie'' involves the Gaelic ''Inbhir Biorbhaigh'', ...

Gourdon.

Gazetteer for Scotland The ''Gazetteer for Scotland'' is a gazetteer covering the geography, history and people of Scotland. It was conceived in 1995 by Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh and David Munro of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and cont ...

. and north of

Johnshaven Johnshaven is a coastal village along the North Sea located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. About southwest of Johnshaven lies Milton Ness, which includes a red sandstone cliff landform. The flax industry, sailmaking and fishing have historically b ...

, with a natural

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

.Gourdon at Undiscovered Scotland.
/ref> Its harbour was built in 1820.Aberdeenshire Council: Gourdon Harbour
It was formerly in

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

. It is known for its close community and unique local dialect. It is a picturesque harbour village that boasts lovely views along the pathway to Inverbervie. Gourdon was served by Gourdon railway station, on the Montrose and Bervie Railway from 1865 to 1951.

Community Groups

Gourdon contains many prominent community groups: Fishing Boats at Gourdon

Gourdon Mission Hall Gourdon Mission Hall is linked to Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff Church. Services are held every Sunday at 6pm. The parish minister, Rev Andrew Morrison, takes the service once a month - usually the first Sunday of the month - with guest speakers taking the other weeks. In 2018, the Mission Hall celebrated its 150th anniversary.

Notable Residents

* John Ritchie Cargill, 1892–1981, able seaman on the

RMS Carpathia RMS ''Carpathia'' was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in their shipyard in Wallsend, England. The ''Carpathia'' made her maiden voyage in 1903 from Liverpool to Boston, and continued on ...

during the rescue after the

Sinking of the Titanic The sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' had an estimated 2,224 peo ...

. * Reg Morrison, 1932–2006. Aberdeen Football Club goalkeeper.

Local Radio

Alongside the commercial enterprise of the local newspaper, The Mearns Leader, Gourdon has a Local Community Radio Station in

Mearns FM Mearns FM is a community run radio station based in the North East of Scotland. There are transmitters in Laurencekirk, Inverbervie, Stonehaven and Portlethen leading to a coverage area stretching from St Cyrus to Aberdeen. The studio is loc ...

. Broadcasting from nearby

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...

in the Townhall, Mearns FM helps to keep Gourdon up to date with local and charity events, as well as playing a wee bit of music. Staffed completely by volunteers, Mearns FM is run as a not for profit organisation, broadcasting under a Community Radio licence, with a remit to provide local focus news events and programming. Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants. Mearns FM has one of the largest listening areas of any Community Radio Station owing to the Mearns' distributed population, Mearns FM was set up to try to bring these distant communities together.

References

External links

Gourdon at KnowherePhotographs of Gourdon
* Villages in Aberdeenshire {{Aberdeenshire-geo-stub