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Local Area
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Beaches
Fraserburgh beach is just 5 minutes drive from the house up the A90. It forms a 3 mile crescent of golden sand. The beach is said to be one of the finest in Scotland.
Golf
The North east corner of Scotland is a paradise for golf lovers. Within a half hour drive of Cortes House there are several golf courses, including the Royal Tarlair at Macduff and the internationally renowned Cruden Bay course.
Cycling
Just up the road there is a fabulous disused railway track (the Formartine and Buchan Way). The last passenger train ran on the 4th October 1965. It stretches for 50 miles from Aberdeen to Fraserburgh and makes an ideal cycle track. It passes by fields of sheep and cows with distant views of the sea. A particularly good choice for cycling with children. Bikes can be hired from the Waterside Inn at Peterhead.
Walks
The beaches and cycle track provide lovely opportunities for walks, but you can stay within the grounds of Cortes House and still enjoy a walk through the woodlands.
Dolphin Watching
There is a lovely 2-3 hour trip you can take from Macduff, 20 minutes away. You sail with skipper John along the coast towards Pennan, passing pretty seaside villages, or cruise west towards Inverness. On the occasion that we took the trip in May, we saw 20+ seals, puffins, a breeding colony of guillemots and a porpoise. We have negotiated a 10% discount with John. www.puffincruises.co.uk - Please mention Cortes House when booking.
Celtic Stone Circles and Cairns
The area around Cortes is a favourite with archaeologists (Cortes means "circle" in Celtic) with many stone circles dating back to prehistoric times. The nearest is at Memsie (2 miles away). This great cairn of bare stones (24 metres in diameter and 4 metres high) is the sole survivor of 3 huge cairns. Another example can be seen at Strichen where the circle apparently dates back to the second millennium BC.
Places of Beauty
Aden Country Park - Explore the unique story of farming and life on a country estate in north east Scotland over the past 200 years.
Pitmedden Gardens - glorious formal gardens dating back to 1675.
Pennan - a picturesque village nestling at the foot of steep cliffs. The film "Local Hero" was filmed her in 1983. Bizarre fact - the telephone box used in the film is now a historic monument!
Banff (20 miles away) - famous as the best preserved 17th/18th century town in Scotland.
Whisky Trail
We are about half an hour away from the famous whisky trail. The nearest distilleries are the Strathisla at Keith or the world famous Glenfiddich at Duff town. In total there are seven distilleries to discover. All information can be found at www.maltwhiskytrail.com
Castle Trail
The castle trail in Aberdeenshire brings together 13 of the world's most unique castles. There is a clearly signposted tourist trail which will take you from castle to castle, taking in the romance of Craigevar to the grandeur of Kildrummy Castle. http://www.castlesandwhisky.com/scottish-castles.htm
Elvis Presley
Amazingly, it has recently come to light that the ancestors of Elvis
Presley came from the village of Lonmay, the local village to Cortes
House! A blacksmith called Andrew Presley who married in Lonmay and
emigrated from here in 1745 is a direct ancestor of the King! Elvis fans
in Scotland now have a new shrine to visit beyond Prestwick where the
star made an appearance in the 60's. When Elvis's Scottish roots emerged
early in 2004 the world press went mad!
Shopping
There is a huge Tesco 4 miles away at the entrance to Fraserburgh, which also delivers. In town there is also a smaller Safeway store with good parking. Fraserburgh is well equipped with shops. There are many national chains such as Boots, WH Smith, Thorntons and Woolworths and a plethora of locally owned stores where you can get anything from stunning flower arrangements at Floriana's through to artist's materials, if you're feeling inspired.
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