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A volunteer shaping a timber boat in the Boatshed at Portsoy.
Aberdeenshire

The Boatshed

Volunteers building traditional wooden boats by Portsoy's links, with the door open to visitors.

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Welcome

Portsoy has a seventeenth-century harbour and a summer festival of traditional boats, and the Boatshed is where some of those boats are made.

It is a workshop in the old Salmon Bothy on Links Road, run by a team of volunteers who love traditional boatbuilding and are glad to share it.

Visitors are welcome to walk in. Some come simply to watch and chat; some join in with a build that is under way; some bring a woodworking project of their own. People of every age take part, from schoolchildren to retired folk, and it is satisfying to watch planks of wood become a boat, or to help build one.

Admission is free. Volunteers are there most days, though times vary, so check before a special trip. It is a short walk from the old harbour and from Links Bay, and the Shore Inn is at the harbour for afterwards. In summer the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival fills the whole town.

Close byThe Shore InnPortsoy's oldest pub, a low-ceilinged howff of the 1700s on the old harbour.1 min by roadSee itThe white front of the Shore Inn on Portsoy's old harbour, flags over the door.
Before you go

Free.

Volunteers are there most days, though times vary: check before a special trip.

Where
The Salmon Bothy, Links Road, Portsoy.
Entry
Free.
Where it is

Portsoy.

Close byAround Portsoy.
  1. Portsoy Ice CreamPortsoy Ice CreamUnder a mile2 min by road
  2. Rows of casks on their racks in a Glenglassaugh warehouse.Glenglassaugh DistilleryA distillery on the shore of Sandend Bay, silent for over twenty years and working again.3 miles5 min by road
  3. The curving sands of Sandend Bay, yellow gorse in the foreground.Sandend Beach3 miles7 min by road
  4. Findlater CastleFindlater CastleThe ruins of a medieval castle clinging to a narrow promontory high above the sea between Cullen and Sandend, with a sandy cove below.4 miles10 min by road
  5. Coils of green net and a yellow float by the lobster creels on Whitehills harbour.Whitehills HarbourA little fishing harbour owned by its own villagers since 1900, now a marina.6 miles9 min by road
Directions
The white front of the Shore Inn on Portsoy's old harbour, flags over the door.BarsThe Shore Inn0.3 miles
Scale model of Old Cullen marks the Royal Burgh's bicentennial in a museum displayAttractionsCullen Heritage Centre6.0 miles
Garden House Trading shopfront with signs for cards, gifts and interiorsShoppingGarden House Trading6.0 miles
The Rockpool café on a street corner beneath a stone railway viaductRestaurantsRockpool Café6.0 miles
Slate rooftops and chimney pots overlook a misty coastline at dawnAttractionsCullen6.1 miles
Wooden steps lead down through grassy dunes towards a curving coastal pathAttractionsCullen Links Golf Club6.6 miles
Grassy dunes and rocky sand lead to a curved headland beyond the bayAttractionsSunnyside Beach6.7 miles
Sandy beach and sea seen through the arched window of a wooden saunaAttractionsSauna at the Kings6.7 miles
Banff Bay from the hill, the sandy shore curving round to the town.AttractionsBanff8.3 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near The Boatshed, and when each is next free.

A single-storey lodge with a slated roof sits behind a stone wall and clipped hedge, mature trees shading the curving drive.Gate Lodge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Rothiemay
  • 12 miles from The Boatshed
Check datesA triangular timber cabin stands behind a wooden gate and post-and-rail fence, bare trees framing the entrance.Midpark
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Rothiemay
  • 12 miles from The Boatshed
Free 27–29 OctA stone cottage with a slated roof and a blue front door, climbing roses in pink and white flanking the porch.Butlers Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Aberdeenshire
  • 12 miles from The Boatshed
Free 17–19 OctA grey stone cottage with dormer windows and a black front door, climbing roses either side, set behind a lawn.Bailies Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Rothiemay
  • 12 miles from The Boatshed
Free 26–28 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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