Stonehaven is Scotland's top seaside town

THREE seaside towns in Aberdeenshire have put the rest of Scotland in the shade when it comes to quality of life in coastal communities, a new survey by the Bank of Scotland has revealed.

Top of the list is Stonehaven, a town which boasts one of the country's most picturesque harbours and Scotland's only open-air art deco swimming pool.

Second is the Buchan port of Fraserburgh, dubbed Scotland's "smack capital" a decade ago because of the scourge of heroin abuse in the town. And third is the neighbouring Buchan town of Peterhead, Europe's busiest white fish port.

All of the towns in the top ten are on the east coast of Scotland.

All three Aberdeenshire towns have higher than average weekly earnings compared to other seaside towns and a significantly above average employment rate.

They also have considerably lower than average traffic flows and burglary rates, and rainfall is almost 25 per cent lower than for the average for all coastal towns, while they enjoy on average 45 minutes more sunshine per week.

David Fleming, chairman of Stonehaven Community Council, said he was delighted that the town had topped the list. But he added: "I am not surprised. Stonehaven is the best town in Scotland because of all the facilities it has and we often get better weather here than they do in the South of England.

"My brother lives down there and I am frequently pulling his leg about it.

"We have fantastic facilities for both residents and tourists, and a wonderful bay and a clean beach.

"I don't know what happened to the west coast and I'm deeply sympathetic to them. But somebody's got to lose."

Fraserburgh councillor Brian Topping said: "I first came up here in the early 1970s on holiday and I fell in love with the place.

"The folk are very friendly and the scenery is beautiful. I am proud to live in Fraserburgh and anywhere I go I promote 'the Broch'. It's a lovely place to live."

Peterhead councillor Anne Allan said she was not surprised Aberdeenshire topped the list.

She said: Peterhead is a lovely place in which to live. It's got the lido and the bay and the sands.We get visitors from all over the world coming here and most of them are delighted with what they find."

She added: "OK, it does have its problems, but they are very minor compared with other places in Scotland."

Fourth in the top ten is North Berwick, followed by Dunbar, Montrose, St Andrews, Dalgety Bay, Leven and Burntisland.

Nitesh Patel, a housing economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "Living on the coast has many attractions, often including a high quality of life, good climate and the all important scenery.

"Given these attributes, seaside towns have long held a strong appeal for many homebuyers seeking an everyday view of the sea.

"Many seaside towns offer an excellent quality of life, but with house prices to match. However, several seaside towns in Scotland provide a combination of relatively low property prices and a good quality of life, therefore offering good value for money."

A spokeswoman for the bank explained: "Some of the highest ranked seaside towns in Scotland for quality of life also have the most expensive property prices.

"North Berwick is the most expensive seaside town in Scotland with an average price of 268,418 in 2009. North Berwick is followed by St Andrews where the average price is 240,660 and Stonehaven 184,996."

Top ten costal locations:

1. Stonehaven

10. Burntisland

Top ten coastal locations

2. Fraserburgh

3. Peterhead

5. Dunbar

7. St Andrews

9. Leven

4. North Berwick

6. Montrose

8. Dalgety Bay