The traditional fishing village of Gardenstown, in the parish of Gamrie, is located on the Moray Coast, overlooking the North Sea.

Lying approximately an hour's drive from Aberdeen and an hour and a half from Inverness, the village is sited on one of Scotland's finest stretches of coastline, with spectacular scenery including caves, coves, secluded bays as well as the more dramatic cliffs, stacks and natural arches.

Undoubtedly one of the best ways to see the magnificence of your surroundings is by taking to the water and a range of boat trips can be arranged from Banff Harbour (10 miles).

The village itself boasts a highly praised restaurant and a local pub. A Heritage Centre in the village allows guests to discover the history of the area which includes, on the hillside to the west, the remains of the Church of St John the Evangelist. The church, built in 1513, commemorates the defeat of the Danes at 'The Battle of the Bloody Pits' which took place at the same site in 1004.

The Moray Firth, the largest firth in Scotland, is considered a special area of conservation and is home to an amazing variety of marine life. There are opportunities to see an array of seabirds, including gannets, puffins, guillemots, fulmars and kittiwakes as well as bottlenose dolphins, porpoises and seals. In the summer lucky visitors may also have pleasure of sighting the more rarely seen minke whales and even the occasional basking shark!

A visit to the numerous little fishing villages along the coast makes a very pleasant excursion, while inland it is not far to either the Speyside Way or the Whisky Trail. Golf is available at Banff, where Duff House will interest art enthusiasts as it is an outpost of the National Gallery of Scotland.