Banff and the Bridge of Alvah

Past the Duff Royal Golf Club, created in 1909 from an original course laid out for the 1st Duke of Fife, the route leads to Duff House, begun by William of Draco, the 1st Earl of Fife in 1753 and designed by William Adam. Earl and architect quarrelled and the house was never completed, but Duff House is quite outstanding, even in its unfinished state. During World War II, when it held German prisoners of war, it was, somewhat ironically, bombed by the Nazis. Neglected and vandalised, it was acquired by the Ministry of Works in 1956. It has since been renovated and is now an outpost of the Scottish National Galleries.

An estate road leads through the picturesque Fife Gates into woods, the naturalised parkland of Duff House. The dense canopy of mature ash, beech, lime, maple, elm, plane, rowan, oak, pine and chestnut trees resound with bird song.

Deep in the wood, stone steps spiral down into the gloomy vault of an ice house. Further on is the Duff family's Rococo mausoleum, built on the site of a Carmelite chapel by James Duff, the 2nd Earl of Fife, who exhumed and reburied his forebears in the vault.

The track sweeps downhill to the 18th century Bridge of Alvah, whose high graceful arches span the River Deveron. Precipitous crags are a tangle of vegetation, and the heavy splash of sea trout and salmon echoes through the gorge from the deep clear pool by the bridge.

The route skirts woodland to Montcoffer House, the Dower house of the Duff family. Built in 1680, it became derelict in the 1960's and 1970's when it was used as a barn. The fabulous mirror which now adorns the library was preserved by a stack of straw bales. The three octagonal larders to the rear were used as fish, game and fruit sores.

The return through Montcoffer Woods leads to John Smeaton's handsome seven arched bridge. To the east of the bridge, the Hill of Doune is crowned by a domed temple, a folly of one of the Earls of Fife.

Banff Bridge Station once stood at the foot of the hill. It was built in 1870 to serve the new railway line to the nearby town of Macduff. To attract extra customers, the railway introduced special rates for fisherwomen, each of whom was allowed to carry one full basket of fish free of charge.