Tomintoul (/ˌtɒmɪnˈtaʊl/ ⓘ; from Scottish Gaelic: Tom an t-Sabhail,[1] meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland in the historic county of Banffshire.

The duke's motivation for his efforts was the hope that a permanent settlement would minimise cattle theft and illegal distilling of spirits in the area.

[8] In this "model village", he encouraged the production of linen but this plan was not successful; the locals stuck to subsistence agriculture, growing vegetables and raising cattle.

[12] The 1882–4 Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer for Scotland also did not depict Tomintoul as a prosperous village:[13]"Consisting of a central square and a single street, running ¾ mile north-north-westward, it is described by the Queen, under date 5 Sept. 1860, as 'the most tumble-down, poor-looking place I ever saw-a long street with three inns, miserable dirty-looking houses and people, and a sad look of wretchedness about it'.

... Tomintoul has a post office with money order, savings' bank, and telegraph departments, a public and a Roman Catholic school, cattle fairs ... and hiring fairs ..."Both churches, built prior to 1840, remain open in the village, Tomintoul Church and St Michael's.

[14] Still billed as "the highest village in the Highlands", with a town square and Victorian buildings, Tomintoul offers tourists options such as snowsports in winter.

In an attempt to improve the economy, the area created the Regeneration Strategy and Action Plan in 2011, which led to the establishment of the Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust in 2012.

The regeneration effort obtained funding of approximately £3.5 million to be used for projects that would benefit the "cultural and natural landscape" of the area.

[18] The village also made the Glenlivet Walking Festival an annual event as suggested by the 2012 Regeneration Strategy and Action Plan.

The late Terry Wogan helped bring the A939 road from Tomintoul to Cockbridge to national attention, along with local, fictional postmistress "Mrs MacKay".

[24] The author Captain W. E. Johns lived in the Richmond Hotel at Tomintoul from 1944 to 1947, before renting Pitchroy Lodge on the nearby Ballindalloch Estate from 1947 to 1953.

[26][27] Due to the villages' location northeast of the Cairngorms massif, it is exposed to many snow-bearing wind directions; this is consolidated by its elevation of 345m above sea level and its latitude at 57°N.