Banffshire is a long county with its head on the sea and its tail in the Cairngorm Mountains. It is on the Moray Firth and reaching from that green coastline, stretching inland up the valley of the river Spey into the Grampian and Cairngorm mountains.
The highest mountains are Ben Macdhui (Britain’s second-highest mountain at 4,296 feet), shared with Aberdeenshire, and Cairngorm (4,080 feet).
The rugged mountain areas of Banffshire give way further north to more rolling country with fine glens and some areas of rich plains, running down at last to the coast. The county’s main rivers are the Deveron, the Boyne, the Avon (which runs from the height of Cairngorm into the Spey) and the Spey for the miles where it forms the border with Morayshire. Banffshire’s economy is largely pastural. The county is almost entirely rural.
County Facts
County Town: Banff
Main Towns: Aberchirder, Banff, Buckie, Cullen, Gardenstown, Keith, Macduff, Tomintoul, Whitehills.
Main Rivers: Deveron, Spey, Avon.
Highlights: Auchindown Castle; Colleonard Sculpture Park; Duff House, Banff; Glenfarcas distillery.
Highest Point: Ben Macdhui, 4296 feet.
Area: 641 sq miles
Flower: Dark-red Helleborine
