Breeds of Alford and the Aberdeen Angus
An Aberdeenshire village with a bronze statue of an Aberdeen Angus bull, close to the farm where the breed was shaped.
Breeds of this place
Best time: May to September.
The Aberdeen Angus, black, hornless and compact, comes from the counties of Aberdeen and Angus in north-east Scotland, where farmers kept polled black cattle long before the breed had a name. In the nineteenth century a handful of breeders turned them into one of the world's best known beef breeds. Alford, west of Aberdeen, honours that history with a statue of an Angus bull.
The breeders
Hugh Watson of Keillor in Angus began to select the local hornless cattle from 1808. William McCombie of Tillyfour, near Alford, carried the work on and showed his cattle at the great shows of Britain and France. At Ballindalloch, in Speyside, a herd founded in 1860 is said to be the oldest Angus herd in continuous existence. The breed's herd book began in 1862, and its society was founded in 1879.
A breed for the world
Aberdeen Angus cattle were taken to Argentina, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in the late nineteenth century. Their hardiness, easy calving and marbled beef made them favourites, and black Angus is now one of the most common beef breeds on earth. In north-east Scotland, herds still graze the farmland between the Dee and the Don.
A trail idea for Alford and the Aberdeen Angus
- The Alford bull The bronze statue of an Aberdeen Angus bull in the village.
- Tillyfour The farm near Alford where McCombie bred his cattle.
- Ballindalloch Castle Home of the oldest Angus herd, in Speyside.
- Thainstone The livestock market at Inverurie, east of Alford.
Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Alford, Aberdeenshire" on Wikipedia. Fair dates, markets and visiting rules change; check locally before travelling, and keep a respectful distance from working animals. If something is wrong, tell us.
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