Macduff
Baby rays at Macduff Marine Aquarium 
Macduff aquarium 
Banffshire Coast Leaflet (500K)Macduff owes its position as a key town on the Banffshire Coast due to the fact that its ‘new harbour’ – built in 1783 – offered lower costs and superior facilities to those of its very close neighbour Banff; a sort of Georgian low cost carrier versus the established airlines trade war or, the old refined Edinburgh versus the industrial upstart of Glasgow …
Until the new harbour was created in 1783, Macduff was just a small fishing hamlet. All this changed when it became a burgh and began to attract significant sea traffic from its neighbour Banff which is less than one mile away and faces Macduff across the mouth of the River Deveron. Whisper it … but some say that Banff/Macduff rivalries still exist!
The town remains a fishing port, and retains a working shipyard, which is the only manufacturer of wooden boats left in the UK. It also has the award-winning Macduff Marine Aquarium, which features hundreds of sea creatures which can be found locally in the Moray Firth. Staff regularly dive into the aquarium’s kelp reef exhibit to feed the fish – and even to vacuum the tank!
Climb to the ‘Temple of Venus’ for the best view of town and the surrounding Strath Deveron area. Or, for an alternative view point, nearby Royal Tarlair Golf Course gives panoramic views along the coast. Victorians travelled considerable distances to ‘take the waters’ at the mineral spa well of Tarlair. Although long closed, the outdoor lido at Tarlair is one of the last ‘surviving’ Art Deco lido style buildings in the UK.
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