Community Resources
Cromdale & Advie
What residents say about their community
Being once part of Inverness-shire, then Morayshire, there is a long history of alliance with both the Highland and Grampian regions but the villages are now served by the Highland Council with Cromdale situated within the Cairngorms National Park boundary and Advie lying just outside it. Cromdale spans the A95 road were it crosses Cromdale Burn, between Grantown on Spey and Aberlour with Advie to the north east. The area is known historically for the Battle of Cromdale, which took place at the Haugh of Cromdale about two miles east of the village in 1690 – a piece of history that has left a legacy up to the present day in attracting visitors to the area. To the south of Cromdale is the Balmenach Distillery and both Cromdale and Advie have their own well maintained traditional village halls which play host to a variety of clubs and well supported community events throughout the year.
Despite the small population, there is currently a strong network of locals who work hard to keep both of the villages socially active and attractive places, both to live in and welcome their visitors to.
This sense of pride in the community is evident during the summer and winter seasons, with their planted barrels of flowers and Christmas lights making both Cromdale and Advie look inviting.
The two halls are undoubtedly the main assets that the villages have in keeping the community together, so the upkeep and maintenance of them is high on the residents’ agenda. The Speyside Way passes through the village and the Haugh Hotel situated in the middle of Cromdale is an opportunity for visitors to linger and explore the area further.
The residents consider that Cromdale and Advie are both quite fragile communities in terms of their social cohesion and fear that a future lack of involvement or interest by newer or younger members of the community, would lead to a loss of activity and slow decline in the quality of life here. People are now more mobile and are already looking to Grantown and further afield for their needs. This combined with a lack of availability of local village housing that the younger generation coming up can afford, means that although residents would not like to see too much change in Cromdale and Advie, they do want the area to progress in a positive direction and affordable housing for local young people to encourage and support them to stay in the area is top of their list of priorities.
They would also like to see new businesses opportunities established, attracting people to come and trade or work from home, with improvements in communication links, better integrated public transport, more activities that will attract visitors to the area eg a camp site on the Speyside Way and on the A95, create an opportunity for a stop-off/rest place for lorries. Sheltered housing for older residents who do not wish to move away from the villages and a local shop are also among the facilities which would enable these communities to continue to keep their sense of identity as special places.