Fochabers Travel Guide

Fochabers is a burgh of Barony created in 1598 and originally stood close to the walls of Gordon castle. Towards the end of the 18^th century, the village was removed to its present site to make room for the extension of the castle. The rectangular street plan was designed by John Baxter for the 4^th Duke of Gordon.

Much of the High Street enjoys the status of a conservation area, and the buildings thus protected are very much as they were when first built some 200 years ago. Bellie Kirk, built in 1798, and the houses on either side, gave it a classic Georgian elegance to the south side of the square.

There was no bridge across the Spey at Fochabers until the Old Bridge was opened in 1804. Travellers had to cross by ferry or, like the Duke of Cumberland in 1746, wade across. The pier on the west bank collapsed in the great floods of 1829, and the bridge was reopened in 1832 with a wooden arch over the gap. This stood until 1854 when it was replaced by a three-rib cast iron arch, itself now bypassed by a modern bridge which carries the main road.

The former Milne's High School, at the eastern end of the High Street, is an imposing example of Victorian architecture designed by Elgin Architect Thomas Mackenzie. It was built in 1846 from a bequest by Alexander Milne. In his youth Milne was employed at Gordon Castle, but he left following a dispute with the Duke, who took exception to the length of Milne's hair. He emigrated to New Orleans where he made his fortune building most of the port there.

Gordon Castle, not open to the public, lies to the north of the village. In its heyday it was probably the finest Georgian house in Scotland, with a battlemented façade almost 200 yards in length and 365 windows. It was the home of the famous Duchess Jane Maxwell who helped to raise the Gordon Highlanders regiment by rewarding new recruits with a kiss and a shilling (old money).

This unspoilt part of rural Moray lies to either side of the estuary of the River Spey, the infamous salmon fishing river of the North of Scotland. The land rises from the sea at Spey Bay to fertile agricultural land and a hummocky wooded landscape interspersed with burns, lochs and quiet villages.

The first Laird of Innes, a Flemming named Berowald, was granted a charter of lands between the River Spey and River Lossie by King Malcolm IV in1160. At that time, the low lying lands of the district were mainly swamp, and the original seat of the Innes family was probably on an island hence the name Innes from Inis, the ancient Gaelic for island. Innes House, built in the mid-seventeenth century, still stands today and is now the home of the Tennant family. The landscape has changed markedly, however, the marshes having been drained to provide a good agricultural land.

The peaceful country roads which thread their way through this attractive part of Moray are ideal for those seeking a leisurely drive or gentle stroll, whilst the villages themselves are both pleasant and interesting.

To either side of the mouth of the Spey lies a vast area of shingle laid down by the sea since the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago. The shingle is formed into ridges and hollows parallel to the present coast, each ridge representing an ancient shoreline. This shingle system is the largest in Scotland and second only to Chesil Beach in Britain. The great shingle banks are constantly pushed westwards by longshore drift, threatening to close the mouth of the Spey. Four times this century, most recently in 1989, it has been necessary to cut a new channel for the river mouth.

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