Pennan is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland consisting of a small harbour and a single row of homes, including a hotel. It is on the north-facing coast and is about one hour's drive from Aberdeen. Pennan seems to have come into existence as a fishing village in the 18th century. Until the 1930s, the population of the village seems to have come under three main surnames - Watt, Gatt and West. The people of Pennan were dependent on the sea. Most families had small boats for their own personal use. Where the men would catch the fish, it was usually down to the women and children to try to sell it to clients in the country. In the last 50 years, most of the native families have moved out and most of the houses have been bought as holiday homes. Pennan became famous in the 1980s for being used as one of the main locations for the film Local Hero, and representing the fictional village of Ferness. Film enthusiasts have come from all over the world to make a phone call in the red telephone box which featured in the film. The phone box was in fact originally put there only as a prop for the film, and then removed, but as a result of public demand a genuine telephone box was installed a few metres from the original spot (+44 (0)1346 6210), and has been a listed building since 1989. Landslips, especially one in 2007, have been damaging the village. In 2009 a 25 foot crack appeared on the cliff side, sparking calls for the village to be evacuated. This part of Aberdeenshire was inhabited by prehistoric peoples since at least the Bronze Age. One of the most ancient extant monuments is the long barrow at Longman Hill
Pennan is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland consisting of a small harbour and a single row of homes, including a hotel. Pennan became famous in the 1980s for being used as one of the main locations for the film Local Hero, and representing the fictional village of Ferness. Film enthusiasts have come from all over the world to make a phone call in the red telephone box which featured in the film. The phone box was in fact originally put there only as a prop for the film, and then removed, but as a result of public demand a genuine telephone box was installed a few metres from the original spot (+44 (0)1346 6210), and has been a listed building since 1989.
Portsoy is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The original name may come from Port Saoithe, meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the Moray Firth Coast of North East Scotland, 50 miles North West of Aberdeen & 65 miles East of Inverness. It has an approximate population of 2000 persons. Portsoy was created a burgh of barony in 1550 and its first harbour was considered to be the safest in the North East. As a result it handled a lively trade with England and the Continent. The town was particularly famed for its marble, cut from a vein of serpentine which runs across the braes to the west of the harbour. Portsoy Marble was greatly appreciated for its beauty and was used in the construction of parts of Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles. The 19th century herring boom brought further prosperity to Portsoy. At its peak, the herring fleet totalled 57 boats. The harbour was washed away in an extremely violent storm in 1828 and it took until 1884 for the harbour to be rebuilt. At one time a railway line ran down to the older harbour which maintained a busy commercial trade, particularly in coal. Towards the end of the 19th century the Portsoy fishing fleet moved to the larger harbours of Macduff and Buckie and today Portsoy's harbours are primarily used by pleasure craft and creel boats catching lobster and crab.
