Coordinates: 57°14′N 2°43′W / 57.23°N 2.71°W
| Alford | |
  Alford shown within Scotland |
|
| Population | 1,925[1] (2001 census) est. 2,050[2] (2006) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Council area | Aberdeenshire |
| Constituent country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Grampian |
| Fire | Grampian |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| European Parliament | Scotland |
| List of places: UK • Scotland | |
Alford (pronounced "aaford") is a large village in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland, lying just south of the River Don. The place-name is thought to come from the Scots "auld ford"; its original position being on the banks of the Don. The "L" sound in the word has, over time, been dropped, and is silent.
Alford gave its name to a battle of the Civil War (1645), and lies within the Howe of Alford. It is also the home of the world popular Aberdeen Angus cattle breed, which is celebrated by a life-sized iron model of a bull on the edge of the town.
Probably due to Alford's relative isolation and large catchment area, there are a large number of services in the village, including three banks, a supermarket, three garages, a bakery and a wide range of other shops. There is also a dry ski slope (one of only a handful in Scotland), a swimming pool and a public library.
The Vale of Alford Railway, Grampian Transport Museum, Alford Heritage Centre and Craigievar Castle are popular visitor attractions, with a range of other archaeological sites, stone circles, and castles (including Castle Fraser and Drum Castle) being within easy reach by road. Situated in Alford, Haughton Country Park is a large and popular green space with a caravan park and woodland walks. The 18 hole Alford Golf Club is an attractive and pleasant course which has a large local membership.
There is a bus service connecting with Aberdeen, approximately 25 miles away.
There is much new housebuilding going on in Alford as of 2006[update] to cater for a workforce who mainly commute in Aberdeen to work in the oil industry.[citation needed]
Another claim to fame for Alford is the world famous Alford Oatmeal, ground at Montgarrie, just outside the town.
Notable residents
- Alford is the birthplace of the renowned poet, Charles Murray.
- Stewart Milne, chairman of both the Stewart Milne Group and Aberdeen Football Club was born nearby and attended school in Alford
- Alford is also the birthplace of the person who played the most games for Glasgow Rangers, Douglas Herbert Gray, who played 948 games for the team.
References
- ^ "Comparative Population Profile: Alford Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 2001-04-29. http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/browser/profile.jsp?profile=Population&mainArea=alford&mainLevel=Locality. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
- ^ http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data
External links
 This Aberdeenshire location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
