Alford is a big town in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland, lying simply south of the River Don. It lies within the Howe of Alford (also called the Vale of Alford) which inhabits the center reaches of the River Don. The place-name is thought to originate from the Scots auld ford; its original placement being on the financial institutions of the Don. The "L" noise in words has, in time, been dropped, as well as is silent. Conversely, the name could be a tautology; a combination of ath as well as ford, both meaning 'ford' in Gaelic as well as Scots specifically. Alford gave its name to a fight of the Battle of Alford (1645 ). It is likewise the home of the Aberdeen Angus livestock breed, which is celebrated by a life-sized design of a bull on the edge of the village, which the Queen Mother inaugurated in 2001. It is believed that the original breeding place of the cattle was Buffal, situated between Tough (Tulloch) as well as Craigievar nearby Alford. One more specialty for the community is Alford Oat meal, ground at Montgarrie, just outside the town. Alford also sporting activities the Alford Area Campus, with a collection and also pool. The Alford Valley Railway, Grampian Transport Museum, Alford Heritage Museum and Craigievar Castle are preferred site visitor attractions, with a range of various other archaeological sites, stone circles, as well as castles (including Balfluig Castle, Castle Fraser and also Drum Castle) being within easy reach by road. One stone circle, originally believed to be prehistoric, became a 20-year-old replica. Situated in Alford, Haughton Country Park is a huge and also preferred green area with a caravan park and also forest walks. The 18 opening Alford Golf Club is an appealing and pleasant training course which has a large neighborhood membership.