Portsoy
Doric poetry from a Portsoy Salmon Bothy folk night 
Scottish Traditional Boat Festival 2009 
The Six Harbour Walk 2009 
Banffshire Coast Leaflet (500K)Visit Portsoy in mid-summer and you’re likely to bump into some ‘Greedy Seagulls’, meet the ‘Peatbog Faeries’ … or even be invited to try out belly dancing! For three bustling days in summer this port is transformed for the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival which takes place in and around the 17th century harbour.
The harbour walls are constructed of horizontal rather than vertical stone and echo some of the natural rock formations along this stretch of coastline. Much of the harbour area is charmingly preserved with restored warehouses, fisher houses and the requisite shore side pub! Even in the 1880’s Portsoy’s charm was recognised in the Gazetteer of Scotland which commented, “As might be expected from its age the town is very irregularly built, and many parts of it have a very quaint appearance”.
Whilst most of Portsoy is stone built, it is marble which has made Portsoy’s name travel far and wide. Actually the stone is not marble, but an unusual red and green serpentine. It was used for fixtures and fittings in the Palace of Versailles, Paris, and for fireplaces in some of Scotland's grandest mansions, including Hopetoun House.
Portsoy was established by royal charter signed by Mary Queen of Scots in 1550. The port boasts a rich heritage as a fishing and a trading port and the community-run Salmon Bothy – including the ice chambers where salmon was packed prior to export – has recently been beautifully restored to show the history of the village and to help genealogists with their local research.
The population of Portsoy more than doubles during the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival. A shining example of how a community-run event can bring the traditional skills of the past into the future, the festival boasts traditional boats from across the globe, demonstrations of boat building, knitting and weaving, fish smoking and a dynamic traditional music programme which has, in recent years, featured Norwegian sea shanty singers whose group name translates as ‘The Greedy Seagulls,’ and the very un-traditional folk music of Scottish band, the Peatbog Faeries.
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