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The Great Britain Guide

Towns & cities · Scottish Highlands

Portsoy

Also known as: Port Saoidh

Free admission

Portsoy — village and former small burgh in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK.

Portsoy, towns & cities in Scottish Highlands

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
3 h–6 h
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly
  • Dog-friendly

About

Portsoy is a town, city, village or settlement in the United Kingdom. Recent population estimates put it at around 1,740 people. Address: AB45. Wikidata describes it as: "village and former small burgh in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK". Coordinates: 57.6830°, -2.6880°.

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From the Wikipedia article

Portsoy (Scottish Gaelic: Port Saoidh) is a small town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Historically, Portsoy was in Banffshire until 1975. The original name may come from Port Saoithe, meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the Moray Firth coast of northeast Scotland, 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Aberdeen and 65 miles (105 km) east of Inverness. It had a population of 1,752 at the time of the 2011 census.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

, now used as a venue for religious gatherings]] Portsoy became a burgh of barony in 1550, under Sir Walter Ogilvie of Boyne Castle, and the charter was confirmed by parliament in 1581. From the 16th century until 1975, Portsoy was in the civil and religious parish of Fordyce but was administered by its own Town Council and Banffshire County Council. Following the commencement of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, on 16 May 1975, lower Banffshire, including Portsoy, became part of Banff & Buchan District Council area which was, in turn, part of the larger Grampian Regional Council area. A further reorganisation of local government in Scotland came via the Local Government etc.…

Visiting

Portsoy, notably the harbour, has featured in BBC period dramas The Camerons, The Shutter Falls and Peaky Blinders and a Tennent's Lager advert parodying the 1949 film Whisky Galore! It was also the principal location for Gillies MacKinnon's film Whisky Galore!, a 2016 remake of the 1949 film; Portsoy represented the fictional island of Todday.

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
57.6830, -2.6880
Postcode
AB45
Parliamentary constituency
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East
Population
1,740

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Portsoy?
Portsoy is in the Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom (postcode AB45).
Is Portsoy free to visit?
Yes, Portsoy is free to enter.
How do I get to Portsoy?
Drivers can navigate to postcode AB45. It sits within the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East parliamentary constituency.