Elgin Area

Elgin

Pluscarden Abbey

Birnie Kirk

Area Main Page

Elgin, the capital of the Moray region, is a lively market town which grew up in the thirteenth century around the River Lossie. Much of the original medieval street plan remains; the busy main street opens out onto an old cobbled market place and there are wynds and pends to explore.

Elgin Museum is to be found at the top of the High Street in a building which has housed it since 1843, though as an institution it is much older. It is home to some fascinating displays on local history and regional archaeology.

The High Street itself is pedestrianised, and the buildings are attractive. To the west it widens out into the market place, known as the Plainstones, an area dominated by the Neoclassical parish church of St Giles, built by Archibald Simpson between 1827-8.

Elgin cathedral, which dates back to the 1200s, was known as the Lantern of the North until destroyed in 1390 (see our Historical Timeline). Two miles north is Spynie Palace, the residence of the medieval bishops of Moray.

Straight roads and ditches criss-cross the flat land to the west of Spynie, which is home to RAF Lossiemouth. Here too is the settlement of Duffus. Old Duffus has the remains of a motte and bailey castle, but it is new Duffus which is the better known. It stands at the gateway to Gordonstoun School, Prince Charles' old school.

Lossiemouth, five miles north of Elgin, and its nearest seaside town, boasts two beaches and is popular with golfers. The East Beach is reached over a footbridge across the River Lossie from the town park and contains an expanse of dunes. East from Lossiemouth is the planned fishing village of Burghead, built on the site of an ancient Pictish fortress.

Six miles south west of Elgin is Pluscarden Abbey. Largely destroyed in the centuries after the Reformation, the Abbey returned to life in 1948 and restoration has continued since. Between Pluscarden and Elgin is antother remarkable church, Birnie Kirk, one of the oldest churches in continuous use in Scotland.

To the east, the A96 bypasses the interestingly named Lhanbryde and nearby Urquhart before crossing the River Spey at the very attractive village of Fochabers. This is a popular stopping off point on the route of the Speyside Way, a long distance footpath from Aviemore to Buckie. On the west side of the River Spey is the old port of Garmouth, with Kingston just to its north, named after Kingston-upon-Hull.