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St. Ternan was a particularly successful missionary. Around 500 CE he came up the River Dee and founded a college to teach Christianity and agriculture to the Picts living in the area, and both flourish in Deeside. The village around his school was officially known as Banchory Ternan until late in the twentieth century, but now it is called simply Banchory.
Activities and attractions
The descendent of the church St. Ternan built is Banchory Ternan East Church. The present building dates from 1825. It includes a delightful 1971 stained glass window themed on the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.
The best views in the Banchory area are from the top of Scolty Hill just south of the town. A walk of six or seven kilometres leads to the crest, where a 20 metre tower honours a general who fought with Wellington. The Deeside Path follows the route of the old rain line all the way to Aberdeen. It is suitable for walkers or for cyclists.
The Glen Tanar National Nature Reserve half an hour's drive upriver from Banchory offers walking, birding and wildlife viewing. It also has the best equestrian facilities in the area, with horses whose personalities suit beginners and others for experienced riders. Some gentle rides are suitable for novice riders, while exciting treks thrill those who have been riding for a while.
The River Dee is one of the best rivers in the world for anglers after spring salmon. Most Banchory accommodation providers can arrange excursions, whether the visitor's goal is to catch the fish or simply watch them leap. Certain attractions that front on the Dee may also be able to help visitors interested in the fish.
Golfers will find Banchory Golf Club's parkland course to be deceptively challenging. The holes, particularly in the beginning, are not terribly long, but the shape and contour of the greens sometimes leads otherwise well-behaved golf balls to do very strange things.
Sixteenth century Crathes Castle downriver from Banchory was built on land that had been deeded to the Burnett of Leys family back in 1328 by King Robert the Bruce along with a jewelled ivory horn. That horn still hangs over the fireplace, for Crathes remained the family's ancestral home until it passed to the National Trust in 1951. In addition to a delightful collection of portraits, it contains several painted ceilings dating from the seventeenth century. The walled garden contains eight themed areas divided by topiary hedges and over five hundred acres of woods and fields, all open to the public.
Drum Castle, a little more than a kilometre down the river from Crathes is a bit off the main road, but well worth the effort of finding it. The original thirteenth century tower has suffered much less alteration over the years than some castles of the period. This estate, like that at Crathes, was given by King Robert the Bruce to a local family, in this case the Irvines. It remained in their hands until 1975 when it was given to the National Trust. In the grounds is a rose garden and an arboretum from the seventeenth century containing trees from all parts of the British Empire of that time.
The area across the Dee from Banchory is rich in ancient monuments. Simple standing stones sit in isolated fields like fingers pointing to the heavens. Stone circles and hill forts stand in high places, and there is even a dig investigating a timber hall dating back to Neolithic times.
Access and Places to Stay
Banchory can be reached by motor coach, but most of its attractions lie far enough outside the town to make a car necessary. There is no railway station nearer than the coast. The easiest way to reach the town is up the riverside A93 from Aberdeen, or in good weather up the A957 from Stonehaven, but very adventurous drivers can reach the A93 from the other end from Nairn or Inverness.
The town is well supplied with bed and breakfast establishments, guesthouses and country hotels, and camping, caravanning and self-catering accommodations are also available. Country restaurants are available for a splurge, but the food at local pubs is very tasty and even the takeaways are quite nice.
Accommodation in Banchory
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