Turriff sits in the middle of one of the densest concentrations of castles and country houses in Scotland. South is Fyvie Castle, one of the grandest in the country, with five towers each named for a successive family that owned it. The coast is 20 minutes north — Banff and Macduff face each other across the Deveron estuary, with the William Adam baroque palace of Duff House on the Banff side. Gardenstown and Portsoy further along the coast are small working fishing villages with strong character.
Westwards the Speyside whisky country begins around Huntly and Keith, and the Glenfiddich and Glenlivet distilleries are about 45 minutes by road. East from Turriff, the road to Peterhead and the Aberdeenshire coast passes more castles (Haddo House, Tolquhon) and the prehistoric stone circles of the Garioch.
