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The green front of the Alford Heritage Museum under its painted sign, in the old auction mart.
Aberdeenshire

Alford Heritage Museum

Rural life through the ages, crammed into Alford's old cattle mart.

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Welcome

Alford's cattle were once sold in an auction mart in the middle of the town, and the building, now A-listed, has housed the Alford Heritage Museum since 1992.

It is a big place and it is packed, a collection of objects that tells the story of country life in the Vale of Alford through the ages.

There are careful recreations of the shops a village depended on, among them a tailor's and a shoemaker's, and an old schoolroom. The auction ring is still there, along with the pens where the animals waited to be sold. For anyone with a love of tractors and farming history there is a huge display of machinery, tools and implements, gathered from the farms around.

It is run with real warmth, with quizzes for children and a welcome for groups. Alford has plenty more to fill a day: the Grampian Transport Museum is in the town, and Craigievar Castle is a short drive south.

Before you go

The museum is in Alford's old cattle mart, with quizzes for children and a welcome for groups.

Check the season and hours on its own site before going.

Where
The old auction mart, Alford.
Groups
Welcome.
Where it is

Alford.

Close byAround Alford.
  1. Two little green engines of the Alford Valley Railway with red buffers, outside the engine shed.Alford Valley RailwayUnder a mile1 min by road
  2. Visitors among a steam engine and old cars in the Grampian Transport Museum.Grampian Transport MuseumUnder a mile2 min by road
  3. Craigievar CastleCraigievar Castle5 miles12 min by road
  4. The cone of the Mither Tap rising above forest and fields.Bennachie9 miles22 min by road
  5. Kildrummy Castle's D-shaped ruin seen from the air above its ravine.Kildrummy Castle10 miles15 min by road
  6. A striped fairway at Lumphanan rolling towards trees and farmland.Lumphanan Golf Club10 miles16 min by road
Directions
Leith Hall, pale harled walls and turrets, above its gravel drive.AttractionsLeith Hall11 miles
The roofless kirk of St Mary at Auchindoir among its gravestones and trees.AttractionsSt Mary's Church, Auchindoir11 miles
A stone farmhouse with a slated roof and green door sits behind a lawn, a timber garden room extending to one side.AberdeenshireChapeltonSleeps 6 · 11 miles
A stone farmhouse with a gabled dormer window sits behind a timber picket fence, trees shading the drive.AberdeenshireHome FarmSleeps 6 · 11 miles
A stone cottage with green-framed dormer windows and matching door stands behind a gravel drive, trees and open fields beyond.AberdeenshireDalgrassickSleeps 4 · 11 miles
A stone house with three dormer windows and a yellow front door sits behind a lawn, terracotta pots flanking the entrance.AberdeenshireGreenstyleSleeps 6 · 11 miles
A stone farmhouse with dormer windows stands beside a picnic bench within a wooden fence enclosure.AberdeenshireTornahatnachSleeps 5 · 11 miles
A plate of toast, eggs, beans and chips at Café 83 in Kemnay.CafeCafé 8312 miles
The Burn of Dess tumbling down its gorge among bare trees.WalksDess Waterfall12 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near Alford Heritage Museum, and when each is next free.

A stone farmhouse with dormer windows stands beside a picnic bench within a wooden fence enclosure.Tornahatnach
  • Sleeps 5
  • In Aberdeenshire
  • 8 miles from Alford Heritage Museum
Free 18–20 NovA stone house with three dormer windows and a yellow front door sits behind a lawn, terracotta pots flanking the entrance.Greenstyle
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Aberdeenshire
  • 8 miles from Alford Heritage Museum
Free 16–18 OctA stone cottage with green-framed dormer windows and matching door stands behind a gravel drive, trees and open fields beyond.Dalgrassick
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Aberdeenshire
  • 8 miles from Alford Heritage Museum
Free 2–4 NovA stone farmhouse with a gabled dormer window sits behind a timber picket fence, trees shading the drive.Home Farm
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Aberdeenshire
  • 8 miles from Alford Heritage Museum
Free 28–30 OctPlaces to stayEvery stay in AberdeenshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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