Elgin
United Kingdom · Europe
About Elgin
Elgin is the county town of Moray in northeast Scotland, best known for its ruined cathedral which made it a "city". Together with nearby Lossiemouth it's the service town for two nearby Royal Air Force bases, with a population in 2016 of 24,760.
Elgin travel guide
Understand
Ornithosuchus was one of the beasts that dragged its slithery tail across the Triassic sands that became the bedrock of Elgin: imagine a 2-m-tall crocodile walking on its hind legs. (Towards you, quite rapidly, with a glint in its eye.) This and other strange local reptiles are exhibited in the Elgin museum. But the later value of that sandstone was to provide something to build upon and with, originally on higher ground 5 miles south. A town grew on the present site from the 12th century, under the patronage of Alexander II, and the cathedral foundations were laid. It would become one of the most serially-wrecked cathedrals in the country: sometimes "wyld, wykked Heland-men" were the culprits, but pretty much everyone had a go at it except the walking crocodiles. The "Elgin Marbles" have only a tenuous connection with the town. It was the 7th Earl of Elgin who in the early 19th century removed (or looted or legally purchased or rescued from destruction, take your pick) many friezes and sculptures from the Acropolis in Athens — they're now in the British Museum in London. But the family residences were in Fife and elsewhere, and none of the Earls of Elgin lived here. Tourist Information is in the library near the cathedral, open M-F 10AM-8PM, Sa 10:00-16:00.
Getting there
Trains run every couple of hours from Aberdeen via Dyce, Inverurie, Huntly and Keith, taking 80 min to Elgin and continuing west to Forres, Nairn and Inverness (another 50 min). A single from Aberdeen (as of Aug 2021) is £12 in advance or £20 for a walk-up fare. Elgin 1 railway station is just south of town centre. It has step-free access, toilets, a ticket office and ticket machines. No left luggage or cafe but there's a vending machine. Stagecoach Bus 10 runs hourly from Aberdeen Union Square, via Inverurie, Huntly and Keith, taking 3 hours to Elgin and continuing to Forres, Nairn and Inverness, another 90 min. Bus 35 takes a roundabout route from Aberdeen, four hours via Dyce, Oldmeldrum, Fyvie, Turiff, Macduff, Banff, Portsoy, Buckie, Cullen, and finally Elgin. Alternate buses turn back at Banff, so to Elgin they're hourly M-Sa and every two hours on Sunday. Bus 33 runs every 30 min between Elgin, Lossiemouth and the RAF base. Bus 32 runs hourly M-Sa between Elgin, Duffus, Hopeman and Burghead. Elgin 2 bus station is right in town centre on A96 Alexandra Rd. By road follow A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness, which runs through town, there's no bypass.
Getting around
You can walk around town and take the bus for places along A96, but you need your own wheels for other outlying sites. Taxi operators include C & R +44 1343 546546, Elite +44 1343 544555, and A2B +44 1343 556655.
See
1 Elgin Cathedral, King St, Elgin IV30 1HU. Daily 10AM-4PM. Ruins of a cathedral dating from 1224. Over the following years it proved ever-so-combustible, needing rebuilding after 1270, 1390 and 1402. It was abandoned after the Reformation in 1560 and fell derelict; only from the 19th century did stabilisation and preservation begin. Adult £9, conc £7.20, child £5.40. (updated Aug 2021) Biblical Garden is a peaceful spot east side of the cathedral, open daylight hours, free. 2 Elgin Museum, 1 High Street, Elgin IV30 1EQ, ☏ +44 1343 543675. Apr-Oct: W-Su 1PM - 4PM. Old-fashioned but informative museum of local history. Donation. (updated May 2023) The Monument on Lady Hill west end of High St is a 24-m column for the 5th Duke of Gordon (1770-1836), aka Marquess of Huntly. The spiral staircase within leads to the statue atop but is rarely open. Nearby is the ruins of Elgin Castle, built in the 12th century, captured by the English and then destroyed by Robert the Bruce in 1308. 3 Moray Motor Museum, Bridge St, Elgin IV30 4DE, ☏ +44 1343 544933. Apr-Oct: daily 11AM-5PM. Collection of antique vehicles in a former mill. Adult £7, conc £6, child £3. (updated Aug 2021) 4 Spynie Palace, Elgin IV30 3QG (Off A941 two miles north of town). Apr-Sep: Su M 10AM-4PM. Ruin of a fortified Bishop's residence from the late 12th century. The cathedral church was here until it moved to Elgin town in 1224. Adult £6, conc £4.80, child £3.60. (updated Aug 2021) 5 Duffus Castle. A ruin off B9017 towards the coast. A wooden motte-and-bailey was built in 1140, wrecked around 1300, then replaced by a stone castle in the 14th century. That in turn was abandoned in 1705. It's free to access anytime. See Lossiemouth for points further north, which include Gordonstoun School and the small ports of Hopeman and Burghead. 6 Fochabers is a village 10 miles east of Elgin, now bypassed by A96. The main attraction is the walled garden of Gordon Castle, open daily 10AM-4PM. Admission costs adults £7, con
Do
Cinema: Moray Playhouse on High St shows mainstream releases. Football: Elgin City play soccer in League Two, the fourth tier. Their home ground is Borough Briggs (capacity 4500) just north of town centre. Golf: Elgin GC is on Birnie Rd a mile south of town centre. White tees 6458 yards, par 71. There's a handful of other courses by the coast around Lossiemouth and Burghead. Speyside Way is a hiking and cycling trail along a former railway trackbed, from Aviemore to Grantown-on-Spey then down the valley to Ballindalloch, Craigellachie, Fochabers and the Spey estuary. Burning of the Clavie is a New Year's custom in Burghead, but hews to the Julian calendar, so it's on 11 Jan. (When the 11th is Sunday, it's held on the 10th - this next happens in 2032.) The clavie is a burning barrel of staves carried around town then set up on Doorie Hill, site of the Pictish fort. Highland Games are held on a mid-May Sunday at Gordon Castle. Aberlour Highland Games are held on Alice Littler Memorial Park in Aberlour, with the next on Sa 1 Aug 2026. Speyfest is traditional and contemporary Celtic music in Fochabers village. The next is 24-26 July 2026.
Buy
"I commissioned something about seventy pair of shoes and brogues, which might come to 3 shillings or three shillings and sixpence each...." - the Earl of Kilmarnock, awaiting execution after the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, sought to settle his debt to the Elgin shoemakers. St Giles Shopping Centre was the town's main mall, but it closed in Jan 2025. Several of its businesses are therefore in temporary accommodation and haven't found a long-term home. Aldi is just north of A96, open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-7PM. Asda and Lidl are next the railway station. Johnstons of Elgin are a knitware chain. Their mill shop is 400 yards east of the cathedral, open daily 9AM-5PM.
Eat
Pattaya Restaurant, 54 High St Elgin IV30 1BU, ☏ +44 1343 551577. Tu-Sa noon-2:30PM, 5-11PM, Su 5-10PM. Good Thai food, spice levels just right. (updated Aug 2021) Qismat Tandoori, 204 High Street, Elgin IV30 1BA, ☏ +44 1343 541461. M-Sa noon-2PM, 5-9:30PM; Su 5-8PM. Reliable choice for South Asian, Indian and Pakistani food. (updated Aug 2021) Pizzeria Toscana, 20 Thunderton Place, Elgin IV30 1BG, ☏ +44 1343 551066. M-Sa noon-2PM, 4:30-9PM; Su 4:30-8:30PM. Relaxed small place for pizza and other favo
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.