landmark
The Macallan Distillery
A Speyside distillery with a much-photographed turf-roofed visitor building set into the hillside above the Spey.
16 km · about 30 min drive
EuropeUnited KingdomScotland
Fochabers
Scotland, United Kingdom · Europe
About Fochabers
Fochabers is worth a stop: 15 minutes from Lhanbryde, 47km from The Lecht Road (A939).
Fochabers is in Scotland, United Kingdom, with about 1,700 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Lhanbryde, about 7 km away.
Fochabers (; Scottish Gaelic: Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, 10 miles (16 km) east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich musical and cultural history. The village is alsoRead more
home to Baxters, the family-run manufacturer of foodstuffs.
The present village owes its existence to the 4th Duke of Gordon (1743–1827). During the late eighteenth century, during the Scottish Enlightenment, it was fashionable for landowners to found new towns and villages; these can be recognised all over Scotland, because unlike their predecessors they all have straight, wide streets in mainly rectangular layouts, a central square, and the houses built with their main elevations parallel to the street.
Fochabers was founded in 1776, and is one of the best examples of a planned village. It is a conservation area, with most of the buildings in the High Street listed as being of historical or architectural interest, as is Bellie Kirk, the Roman Catholic church St Mary's Fochabers, which houses works by notable craftsmen, and the Episcopalian church, Gordon Chapel, which boasts the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite stained glass in Scotland.
The population in 1841 was 1,135 inhabitants.
Electricity was brought to the village in 1906 by the 7th Duke of Richmond, supplied from a small hydro-electric generating station built in 1905 in the Quarters district on the banks of the fast-flowing Spey. For a time in the mid-twentieth century, Fochabers was the home of three duchesses – Hilda, Duchess of Richmond and Gordon; Ivy, Duchess of Portland and Helen, Duchess of Northumberland. Between 1893 and 1966 the village had a railway station, Fochabers Town, although after 1931 this was open only to freight.
For nearly three decades, the people of Fochabers campaigned for a bypass, as the village is situated on the A96, the only direct route from Aberdeen to Inverness, and consequently suffered from serious traffic problems. Construction work on a bypass for Fochabers and the neighbouring village of Mosstodloch started on 2 February 2010 and was completed in January 2012, at a cost of £31,500,000. The project was significantly delayed due to conflict regarding the proposed route, and discovery of a Neolithic settlement on the site of the bypass.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Fochabers?
Within an hour or so of Fochabers: The Macallan Distillery (16 km), Bow Fiddle Rock (18 km), Glenfiddich Distillery (18 km), The Lecht (A939 Old Military Road) (47 km).
Are there any good drives near Fochabers?
The nearest famous roads are The Lecht (A939 Old Military Road), The Lecht Road (A939) and Cairnwell Pass.
Where is Fochabers?
Fochabers is in Scotland, United Kingdom, about 7 km from Lhanbryde.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 1,690
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- Scotland
- Timezone
- Europe/London
- Coordinates
- 57.6144, -3.0995
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in United Kingdom
112 also works. NHS non-emergency medical advice: 111. National Highways breakdown assistance on motorways: 0300 123 5000.
Full driving guide for United KingdomTags
Worth the detour from Fochabers
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
photogenic
Bow Fiddle Rock
Sea arch shaped like the tip of a fiddle bow, a short walk from the village of Portknockie on the Moray coast. At dawn the quartzite arch glows pink and doubles in the still water; dolphins pass close inshore.
18 km · about 20 min drive
landmark
Glenfiddich Distillery
The Speyside distillery at Dufftown that is still family-owned and among the largest single malt producers in the world.
18 km · about 20 min drive
historic highway
The Lecht (A939 Old Military Road)
Notorious high crossing of the eastern Cairngorms on the 18th-century military road between Cockbridge and Tomintoul, climbing to 637m with roller-coaster gradients: often the first UK road closed by snow.
47 km · about 55 min drive
famous road
The Lecht Road (A939)
The Cockbridge to Tomintoul road, Britain's most reliably snowbound route, a rollercoaster over the Cairngorms' eastern edge.
47 km · about 55 min drive
museum
Grampian Transport Museum
Acclaimed motoring museum in Alford, Aberdeenshire, with everything from steam locomotives to supercars, plus its own outdoor test track used for summer motoring events.
49 km · about 55 min drive
photogenic
Pennan
A single row of white cottages squeezed between red sandstone cliffs and the sea, reached by a steep hairpin lane off the B9031. Star of the 1983 film Local Hero. Its red phone box is now listed.
50 km · about 60 min drive
castle
Cawdor Castle
A turreted castle near Nairn built around a medieval tower, with a holly tree in the vault and gardens open in summer.
50 km · about 60 min drive
Driving roads near Fochabers
- 47 kmThe Lecht (A939 Old Military Road)Notorious high crossing of the eastern Cairngorms on the 18th-century military road between Cockbridge and Tomintoul, climbing to 637m with roller-coaster gradients: often the first UK road closed by snow.
- 47 kmThe Lecht Road (A939)The Cockbridge to Tomintoul road, Britain's most reliably snowbound route, a rollercoaster over the Cairngorms' eastern edge.
- 59 kmChanonry PointOne of the best places in Europe to spot bottlenose dolphins from the shore, a spit on the Black Isle near Inverness.
- 64 kmCairngorm Mountain FunicularA funicular railway climbing high into the Cairngorms near Aviemore for panoramic alpine views and winter snowsports.
Driving in United Kingdom
- Drives on
- the left
- Petrol
- ~€1.73/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
May to September
Far northern latitude: short daylight hours outside summer make long drives harder.
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