Alford, Aberdeenshire

{{Short description|Village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox UK place

| country = Scotland

| coordinates = {{coord|57.23|-02.71|display=inline,title}}

| static_image_name = Main Street, Alford - geograph.org.uk - 288309.jpg

| official_name = Alford

| scots_name = Aaford,[http://www.scotslanguage.com/books/view/1/823/Names%20in%20Scots%20-%20Places%20in%20Scotland Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots] Awfort[https://archive.today/20130415182632/http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read.asp?letter=A&CurPage=32 The Online Scots Dictionary].

| gaelic_name = Athfort{{cite web|url=http://www2.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/sbg/lorg.php?facal=Athfort&seorsa=Gaidhlig&tairg=Lorg&eis_saor=on |title=Rannsaich an Stòr-dàta Briathrachais Gàidhlig |language=gd |publisher=.smo.uhi.ac.uk |date=2010-11-10 |access-date=2012-08-13}}

| population = {{Scottish locality populations|name|POP=Alford}}

| population_ref = ({{United Kingdom statistics year|ScotSettlement}}){{Scotland settlement population citation}}

| unitary_scotland = Aberdeenshire

| constituency_westminster = West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine

| constituency_scottish_parliament = Aberdeenshire West

| post_town = Alford

| postcode_district = AB33

| postcode_area = AB

| dial_code =

| os_grid_reference = NJ5716

| edinburgh_distance = {{convert|90|mi|km|abbr=on|0}}

| london_distance_mi = 409

}}

Alford (pronounced {{IPAc-en|audio=Alford.ogg|ˈ|ɑ:|f|ər|d}}{{nbsp}} {{langx|sco|Aaford}} or {{lang|sco|Awfort}}, {{langx|gd|Athfort}}) is a large village in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland, lying just south of the River Don. It lies within the Howe of Alford (also called the Vale of Alford) which occupies the middle reaches of the River Don.{{cite web |title=Aberdour - Anderston A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/scotland/pp23-45 |website=British History Online |publisher=S Lewis, London 1846 |access-date=5 January 2025}}

The "L" sound in the place-name has, over time, been dropped, and is silent. Alford gave its name to a battle of the Battle of Alford (1645). It is also the home of the Aberdeen Angus cattle breed, which is celebrated by a life-sized model of a bull on the edge of the village, which the Queen Mother inaugurated in 2001.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1359224/Queen-Mother-helps-to-unveil-statue-of-a-bull.html|title=Queen Mother helps to unveil statue of a bull|last=Davies|first=Caroline|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2001-10-11|access-date=2019-01-24|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}} It is believed{{by whom?|date=October 2024}} that the original breeding ground of the cattle was Buffal, located between Tough (Tulloch) and Craigievar nearby Alford.

The Alford Valley Railway, Grampian Transport Museum, Alford Heritage Museum and Craigievar Castle are visitor attractions, with a range of other archaeological sites, stone circles, and castles (including Balfluig Castle, Castle Fraser and Drum Castle) also nearby. One stone circle, originally believed to be prehistoric, turned out to be a 20-year-old replica.{{Cite web |last1=Metcalfe |first1=Tom |date=21 January 2019 |title='Ancient' Stone Circle Actually Built in 1990s by Scottish Farmer |url=https://www.livescience.com/64555-ancient-stone-circle-is-modern-replica.html |access-date=2019-01-24 |website=Live Science}}