Travel Guide – Aberdeen, Scotland

Known throughout Scotland as the granite city, Aberdeen has a thriving cultural and commercial life. The city also offers easy access to Royal Deeside in the Cairngorms to the west, sandy beaches to the north and Speyside whisky country to the northwest.

See
Overlooking the busy harbour, the Maritime Museum includes a replica of a North Sea oil platform. Some galleries are in the Provost Ross’s House, the city’s oldest building, and cover Aberdeen’s history of shipbuilding, whaling and fishing.

Just 800m east of Castlegate is Aberdeen’s two-mile beach. The Esplanade includes Codona’s Amusement Park, complete with dodgems and a log flume.

Aberdeen Art Gallery exhibits the work of past and contemporary Scottish and English painters. Hogarth, Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst are just some of the notable artists represented here.

The fishing village of Stonehaven with its cliff-lined harbour is 15 minutes by train (or 45 minutes by bus) from Aberdeen. A pleasant 15-minute walk south along the clifftops leads to the dramatic ruins of Dunnotar Castle.

In the heart of the Speyside whisky-distilling region 1¼ hours’ drive from Aberdeen, Dufftown has six distilleries and is a must for connoisseurs. Ask at the tourist office for the Malt Whisky Trail, a self-guided tour around the stills.

Eat
The Globe Inn is a pub with wood panelling and walls hung with old musical instruments. It serves real ales and a good range of malt whiskies, and has live music at the weekend.

Upmarket fish and chip shop Ashvale Fish Restaurant has won several awards. The Ashvale Whale – a  1lb haddock fillet in batter – is the house speciality; finish it and you get a free dessert!

Café 52 serves some of the most inventive cuisine in the northeast. Dishes include its signature main – a Thai seafood stockpot.

Foyer is an art gallery as well as a restaurant, run by a charity that works against homelessness. The seasonal menu might include roasted chump of Buchan lamb with sautéed Jerusalem artichoke.

Housed in a former customs office by the sea, The Silver Darling (slang for herring) serves Scottish seafood. The lunch menu offers good-value gourmet dishes such as roast monkfish with grilled chorizo and ratatouille purée.

Find your way
City buses are operated by First Aberdeen with fares starting at 70p. Scottish Citylink runs buses to Crathes Castle and Braemar. Car rental is available from Arnold Clark (from £25 per day).

Find out more about Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.

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