Forres
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  Forres Location withinMoray | |
| Population | 9,900 (2022)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NJ034578 |
| • Edinburgh | 116 mi (187 km) |
| • London | 444 mi (715 km) |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FORRES |
| Postcode district | IV36 |
| Dialling code | 01309 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 57°36′29″N3°37′12″W / 57.608°N 3.620°W /57.608; -3.620 | |
Forres (/ˈfɒrɪs/;Scottish Gaelic:Farrais) is a town and formerroyal burgh in the north of Scotland on theMoray coast, approximately 25 miles (40 km) northeast ofInverness and 12 miles (19 km) west ofElgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions.[2] There are many geographical and historical attractions nearby such as theRiver Findhorn, and there are also classical, historical artifacts and monuments within the town itself, such asForres Tolbooth and Nelson's Tower.Brodie Castle, the home of the Brodie Clan, lies to the west of the town, close to the A96.
Between 2002 and 2013 some 70 hectares of land was investigated by archaeologists in advance of a proposed residential development on the southern fringes of the town. They found an extensiveIron Age settlement and evidence that people lived in the area from theNeolithic (radiocarbon dates from the 4th to the mid-3rd millennium BC were found) to the Early Historic period (they found radiocarbon dates from the 9th–12th centuries AD, around the time that historical records began). The Iron Age settlement had asouterrain and metalworking furnaces, and they found Neolithic and Bronze Age ceramics and cup-marked rock art. The excavation of a souterrain in Moray is quite rare; only one other souterrain had been excavated in Moray before this one.[3]
The earliest written reference to Forres may be theΟὐάραρ εἴσχυσις (Ouárar eíschysis, 'Varar Estuary') mentioned in the second centuryGeography ofClaudius Ptolemy.[4] The town is the location ofSueno's Stone, an enormous carved stone probably created byPicts to commemorate a battle againstNorse invaders. Thestele is 20 feet (6.1 m) tall and encased in glass structure to protect it from the elements and graffiti. Sueno's Stone translates to Sven's Stone. It dates from AD 850 to AD 950.[5]
A royal castle was present in the area from at least 900 AD, and around 1140 AD Forres became a royal burgh.Royal burghs were founded by theKings of Scots of the 12th century to encourage trade and economic improvement. The localabbey was plundered by theWolf of Badenoch in 1390.[6]
On 23 June 1496 KingJames IV of Scotland issued aRoyal Charter laying down the rights and privileges that the town's people are believed to have held by an earlier charter since the reign of KingDavid I some 300 years earlier.[7]
Brodie Castle, which was commissioned byBrodie family in 1567, lies to the west of the town.[8]
William Shakespeare's playMacbeth, first performed in 1606, locates Duncan's castle in Forres, and theThree Witches meet onmoorland near the town in the third scene of the drama.[9]
TheDallas Dhu distillery, established in 1898, lies just south of the town; although no longer producing, the distillery is maintained in working order byHistoric Environment Scotland.[10]Benromach Distillery, also established in 1898, is located just north of the Forres bypass and is an active distillery with a visitors' centre.[11]
TheFindhorn Foundation, anintentional community, was established in the town in the 1940s.[12] The formerRAF Forres, established during theSecond World War, is located nearby.[13]
In January 2016,Glasgow School of Art established a campus in the town which focuses on design and innovation.[14]
The population of Forres expanded in the 20th century and was over 12,000 in 2011.[15]
Sitting between thefloodplain of theRiver Findhorn and the wooded slopes ofCluny and Sanquhar Hills, Forres is well known for its award-winning floral sculptures.
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Forres was aparliamentary burgh, combined withInverness,Fortrose andNairn, in theInverness Burghsconstituency of theHouse of Commons of theParliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of theParliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. The constituency was abolished in 1918 and the Forres and Nairn components were merged into the then new constituency ofMoray and Nairn.Forres Town Hall, originally built as a masonic hall and later used as amechanics institute before becoming a municipal building, was completed in 1829.[16]
As with the rest of theBritish Isles and Scotland, Forres experiences amaritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest officialMet Office weather station for which online records are available is Kinloss, about 3 miles (5 km) north east of the town centre. The lowest temperature to be recorded in recent years was −16.0 °C (3.2 °F) during December 2010.[26]
| Climate data for Kinloss 5 m (16 ft) asl, 1971-2000, extremes 1960- (Weather station 3 mi (5 km) NE of Forres) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.1 (59.2) | 16.1 (61.0) | 21.7 (71.1) | 24.9 (76.8) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 30.7 (87.3) | 31.2 (88.2) | 26.2 (79.2) | 24.4 (75.9) | 18.8 (65.8) | 15.8 (60.4) | 31.2 (88.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.6 (43.9) | 7.1 (44.8) | 9.0 (48.2) | 10.8 (51.4) | 14.1 (57.4) | 16.4 (61.5) | 18.7 (65.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 15.8 (60.4) | 12.7 (54.9) | 9.0 (48.2) | 7.0 (44.6) | 12.2 (54.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) | 0.5 (32.9) | 2.0 (35.6) | 3.4 (38.1) | 5.9 (42.6) | 8.7 (47.7) | 10.8 (51.4) | 10.6 (51.1) | 8.5 (47.3) | 5.8 (42.4) | 2.7 (36.9) | 1.0 (33.8) | 5.1 (41.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15.6 (3.9) | −14.4 (6.1) | −10.7 (12.7) | −7.3 (18.9) | −3.4 (25.9) | −0.5 (31.1) | 1.5 (34.7) | 1.3 (34.3) | −1.2 (29.8) | −4.6 (23.7) | −13.1 (8.4) | −16.5 (2.3) | −16.5 (2.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 55.4 (2.18) | 39.0 (1.54) | 45.7 (1.80) | 42.0 (1.65) | 45.4 (1.79) | 52.9 (2.08) | 52.5 (2.07) | 57.4 (2.26) | 64.7 (2.55) | 58.4 (2.30) | 59.4 (2.34) | 51.4 (2.02) | 624.4 (24.58) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 43.7 | 73.5 | 102.3 | 126.3 | 180.1 | 156.6 | 152.8 | 140.4 | 112.5 | 85.6 | 51.6 | 36.0 | 1,261.4 |
| Source 1:Met Office[27] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute/KNMI[28] | |||||||||||||
Forres is situated on the A96 trunk route connecting the cities ofAberdeen andInverness. TheRiver Findhorn was originally crossed by fording near Waterford Farm. Asuspension bridge was opened in 1831 to cross the river at the west end of the town. This bridge was replaced by the current bridge in 1938. Due to high volumes of traffic passing through the town centre, a bypass was built in the late 1980s to reduce congestion in the town centre. A new, dual carriageway A96 bypass is planned by the Scottish Government.[29]
Forres railway station is situated just outside the town and is operated byScotRail. The town of Forres was once a triangular junction in theHighland Railway network, travelling through Forres was once the quickest route to reach Inverness from the south. Originally the station had four platforms; two of which were on the north side of the triangle on the route between Inverness and Aberdeen, the third on the south west side of the triangle used by services to Grantown-on-Spey. The fourth was a short platform on the south east side used by through services between Elgin and Aviemore via Grantown. Trains from Grantown towards Nairn or Inverness had to run through the station and then reverse back into the Aberdeen to Inverness platform. The service to Grantown-on-Spey was closed in the 1960s and now forms part of The Dava Way, a scenic footpath connecting the two towns.[30]
A number of Christian churches have a presence in Forres, including:
Forres has various sporting activities within it including Forres Golf Course, which has held the Scottish Young Professionals championships a number of times.[41]
Forres Mechanics Football Club play in the Highland League atMosset Park. They are the oldest association football club in the North of Scotland and one of only two original teams to play in the Highland League since its first season in 1893, the other beingClachnacuddin.
Forres St. Lawrence is the local cricket club.[42] They are full members in both senior and reserve competitions in the area.[43]
Forres Harriers is the local running club with around 80 members.[44] The most famous Harrier isDon Ritchie who at one time held 14 world best times for ultra distance running events ranging from 50 km to 200 km.[45]
Forres has two swimming clubs - the long established Forres Bluefins, as well as the UK's only specialist sprint swimming club, Free Style SC.[46]
Forres hosted the first race of theWorld Orienteering Championships 2015 on Friday 31 July, when the Sprint Qualification event was held there. Two days later on 2 August it hosted the Sprint Final event.[47]
Forres istwinned with:
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