As one of the country’s largest maritime culture and heritage celebrations, the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival is enjoyed by visitors from near and far.

Thousands of people drop anchor at Portsoy, packing into the Aberdeenshire town’s picturesque harbours and seafront areas to savour the spectacle.

The festival was first held in 1993 as a one-off to mark the tercentenary of the historic harbour. With ambition and determination it has continued every year since, becoming one of the region’s leading tourism events, with just as many activities off the water as on it. Only a pandemic stopped it in its tracks, with 2020 being cancelled and 2021 moving online, watched by an audience across the globe.

The focus is maritime and seafaring heritage, but there’s so much more; you could describe the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival as a series of festivals within a festival. The action-packed family programme includes:

Visitors

Bands and artists

Economic Value

Heritage Craft

Year

Picturesque harbours