Elgin

Elgin is a city in Moray north-east Scotland, situated on the north coast between Inverness and Aberdeen.

For other places with the same name, see Elgin (disambiguation).

Elgin's high street

Understand

Located in Speyside area, Elgin is famous for whisky production. It is also home of a cashmere wool factory.

Get in

By car

Elgin is on the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, which runs through the middle of the city.

By bus

Elgin Bus Station is on the A96 in the town centre. The town is fairly well served with the hourly 10 service which connects Aberdeen and Inverness via the A96 corridor. There are also buses serving the various communities such as Lossiemouth, Burghead etc. which all depart from the bus station.

By train

🌍 Elgin station is located just south of the town centre. Trains are available to all stations on the Aberdeen to Inverness line, there is no set frequency of trains though, as a rough guide, trains are between 1 and 2 hours apart in each direction.

Get around

By bus

Elgin city bus services depart from the bus station and bus routes will be found around the city.

By taxi

This is probably the most efficient form of transport after hours, as most bus services cease or become less frequent at about 7pm. You won't be expected to pay a great deal for a taxi by UK standards as Elgin is rather small and routes are very direct.

Ruins of the cathedral

See

• 🌍 Elgin Cathedral. Apr - Sep: Daily, 9.30am to 5.30pm; Oct - Mar: Daily 10am to 4pm. Ruins of a cathedral dating from 1224. £5.50. (updated Nov 2016)
• 🌍 Elgin Museum, 1 High Street, IV30 1EQ, ☎ [phone]. Apr - Oct: Mon - Fri 10am to 5pm, Sat 11am - 4pm. Contains local history, archaeology, fossils and watercolours. donation.  
• 🌍 Spynie Palace (2 miles north of Elgin). Apr - Sep: Daily 9:30 - 17:30. Bishop's palace from the late 12th century. (updated Nov 2016)
• Gordon Castle is ten miles east of Elgin, in Fochabers. Highland Games are held annually here in early summer, with the next event being Sat 19 - Sun 20 May 2019.

Do

• 🌍 The Glen Moray Distillery, Bruceland Road (West of town, Soth of the A96), ☎ [phone]. Tours Mon - Fri 9:30 , 11:00 , 12:30 , 14:00 and 15:30 Sat (May-Sep) 10:30 , 12:00 , 13:30 and 15:00. Whisky distillery just west of town. £5 (Inc, Tour and Tasting).  

Buy

Plenty of shops on the High Street.

• 🌍 St Giles Shopping Centre, 121 High St, IV30 1EA, ☎ [phone]. M-Sa: 8AM-5:30PM, Su: 11AM-4PM. 
• 🌍 Johnstons of Elgin, Newmill, IV30 4AF, ☎ [phone]. M-Sa: 9AM-5:30PM, Su: 10AM-5PM. If you are into woollen products, there is a visitor centre together with their shop (and a small museum).  

Eat

• 🌍 Pattaya Restaurant, 54 High St, ☎ [phone]. (updated Apr 2017)

Drink

Pubs And Clubs Are Mainly Found in The City Centre. The Most Popular Are:

• Johannas NightClub. 
• Downtown USA Nightclub. 
• The Granary Nightclub. 
• The Cooperage. 
• Diceys Bar. 
• The Muckle cross (JD Wetherspoon's). 

Sleep

• Eight Acres Hotel, Morriston Road, IV30 6UL, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. The hotel offers restaurant and leisure facilities, and is situated about ten minutes walk to the west of the town. 
• Laichmoray Hotel. 
• Mainsfield Hotel. 
• Sunninghill Hotel. 
• Mansion House Hotel. 
• Premier Inn. 

Go next

• Elgin's a good base for exploring the many distilleries of the Speyside whisky region, and the county of Morayshire.
• It's also midway between the cities of Inverness and Aberdeen, each around an hour's drive away.
• On the Moray Firth coast there are opportunities for dolphin-watching, and you can visit the strange Findhorn Foundation - a 1960s new age community which has morphed into an ecological living centre, complete with self-built houses, circular meditation room, and wind turbines.
• Lossiemouth is a few miles north on the coast.
• Forres is to the west.