A fisher town in the Moray parish of Rathven, Buckie is situated on the Moray Firth at the mouth of the Burn of Buckie, 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Fochabers. Once described as 'the largest purely fishing village in Scotland', Buckie developed in the 19th Century as the head of the fishery district between Banff and Findhorn. In 1877 John Gordon of Cluny constructed a harbour (Cluny Harbour) at a cost of £60,000 and in 1881 its fishing craft numbered 333, employing 1320 men and boys. By 1913 Buckie had the largest Steam Drifter fleet in Scotland.
The settlement, which is divided by the Burn of Buckie into Nether Buckie (or Buckpool) to the west and Easter Buckie to the east, includes the communities of Yardie, Ianstown, Gordonsburgh and Portlessie (originally Rottinslough) which were incorporated between 1901 and 1903. In the 1780s Cosmo Gordon of Cluny laid out a new town, New Buckie, in the form of a long street focused on a square which is overlooked by North Parish Church (1880) with its open crown spire.
The history of the local fishing industry is told in the Maritime Heritage Centre (The Buckie Drifter) and in the Anson Gallery are to be found works by the famous marine artist Peter Anson. The town has marine industries and for the visitor there are facilities including hotels and an 18-hole golf course.
