Sandend

Sandend is a small fishing village near Banff and Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, typical of the area. It was "a considerable seatown as early as 1624".

Photo: Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Places of Interest

Highlights include Glenglassaugh distillery and Fordyce Castle.

Glenglassaugh distillery

Distillery

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Glenglassaugh distillery is a malt scotch whisky distillery at Sandend in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It restarted production in November 2008 after being acquired by an independent investment group. It was then bought by Brown-Forman and mothballed in 2025.

Fordyce Castle

Castle

Photo: Dominic Moore, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Fordyce Castle is a T-plan castle, its oldest part dating from 1592, about three miles south-west of Portsoy, in the village of Fordyce, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Fordyce Castle is situated 1½ miles south of Sandend.

Fordyce Academy

School

Fordyce Academy, known until the mid-19th century as Fordyce School, and also sometimes called Smith's Academy, was a famous grammar school in the village of Fordyce, Banffshire, Scotland, founded about 1592, refounded in 1790, and closed in 1964. Fordyce Academy is situated 1½ miles south of Sandend.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Fordyce and Portsoy.

Fordyce

Village

Photo: Dominic Moore, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Fordyce is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that is slightly inland from the point where the Burn of Fordyce meets the sea between Cullen and Portsoy. Fordyce is situated 1½ miles south of Sandend.

Portsoy

Photo: HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Portsoy is a fishing village 8 miles west of Banff on the north coast of Aberdeenshire in northeast Scotland. It has a picturesque harbour often used as a film and TV location, such as the 2016 remake of Whisky Galore! In 2022 the population was 1700.