Overview of Ellon

A market town at the centre of rich farming land in E Aberdeenshire, Ellon is situated at a crossing of the River Ythan 17 miles (27.3 km) north of Aberdeen. Once the main settlement of the Pictish province of Buchan, it was the scene of courts held in the Middle Ages by the Comyn Earls of Buchan who dispensed justice at the Moot or Earl's Hill, a site now marked by a monument beside the car park in Market Street. Ellon was one of the settlements burned in the so called 'Harrying of Buchan' following the defeat of the Comyns near Oldmeldrum by Robert the Bruce in 1308.

Close by is Ellon Castle, rebuilt by the 4th Earl of Aberdeen in 1780, with its terraced garden created by Bailie James Gordon in 1706. The ancient parish church of St Mary, bestowed on Kinloss Abbey in 1310, was superseded by a new church in 1777 that was renovated in 1876.

The town has a library, community centre, swimming pool and sporting and recreation facilities that include fishing, bowling, football, tennis, cricket and an 18-hole golf course. Still a market town with associated agricultural engineering industries, Ellon expanded in the 1970s to accommodate workers in the oil industry. The Ythan Raft Race from Ellon to Logie Buchan takes place each summer.