Aboyne

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Aboyne
Abèidh (Gaelic)


OS grid reference:	NO527986



Population:	2,240 (2004) [1]



Council area:	Aberdeenshire
Constituent country:	Scotland
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom

Police force:	Grampian Police
Lieutenancy area:	Aberdeenshire
Former county:	Aberdeenshire

Post town:	ABOYNE
Postal:	AB34
Telephone:	013398


Scottish Parliament:	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
UK Parliament:	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
European Parliament:	Scotland

Aboyne (Scottish Gaelic: Abèidh) is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee approximately 30 miles (48km) west of Aberdeen. It has a rugby club which plays on The Green. It also has a swimming pool, a golf course with 18 and 9 holes, all-weather tennis courts and a bowling green. Aboyne Castle and the Loch of Aboyne are nearby.

Aboyne as seen from the "Fungle" footpath.

Aboyne has a population of over 2,200 people. It has many businesses, including a supermarket, banks, five hairdressers, a butchers and a post office. There used to be a railway running through the village, but it was dismantled in the 1960s. The station now contains some shops and the tunnel running under the village is now home to a firearms club. The market-day in Aboyne was known as Fèill Mhìcheill (Scottish Gaelic for "Michael's Fair").

It is a popular tourist town and in summer the number of people and volume of traffic increases dramatically. The Highland Games on the Village Green is a feature in August, with the population of the village doubling for it. However, Aboyne is unusual in having the green for which events are held, as the village was modelled by one of the first Marquesses of Huntly (inhabitants of Aboyne Castle) on a traditional English village with a green at the centre, and few Scottish towns have such an asset. The Royal family are resident in nearby Balmoral Castle during the summer.

There are many outdoor pursuits available including walking, cycling and most notably gliding from the airfield just outside the village. Aboyne has become extremely popular with gliding enthusiasts from all over the UK and Europe due to its uniquely suitable air currents (due to the surrounding terrain). The airfield has a webcam [2] and small weather monitoring centre [3] on its premises. It is the only gliding airfield in Scotland to boast tarmac runway, of which it has two in parallel which run east-west.

There is also a lot of climbing nearby at the pass of Ballater, and indeed the village of Dinnet a few miles west is the first inside the famous Cairngorms National Park. Walkers and cyclists can ascend Mount Keen by cycling as far as they can from Glen Tanar forest, before walking to the summit of Mount Keen.

There are also many not-so-active things to do, such as local cafes and attractions. Aboyne is also a great place for younger children as there is a large green which includes facilities for rugby and football as well as accommodating a playpark. There are two schools, an academy and a primary school. The academy has a full size swimming pool and gym run by the Deeside Community Centre, which is attached to the school.