Aberdeen - Scotland's Granite City Has A Soft Heart

Aberdeen provides a wealth of amazing views from an ancient harbour on its eastern coast to the magnificent Grampian Mountains in the west. With so many places to visit, it's a good idea to get a rental car from Aberdeen Airport. Since it's the 3rd largest city in Scotland, expect Aberdeen to have a wide selection of attractions from theatre, cinema etc to old relics and countless opportunities for shopping. This area of Aberdeen and the Grampians is responsible for that magnet for discerning drinkers everywhere, the Malt Whisky Trail. Provided that you have recovered from sampling the outstanding malt whiskies of eight distilleries, then it's time to explore the Castle Trail amidst the region's most wonderful of views. There is a whole host of activities including fishing, golf, whisky tasting, skiing and a whole lot more on offer here in this picturesque region of Scotland.

Expect a festival or celebration to be taking place while in the city. Tourists and locals often get together to celebrate the region’s heritage with traditional entertainment and events like the Lonach Highland Gathering and Games. Locally known as the “Friendly Games” the Games are held annually on the 4th Saturday of August at Strathdon in Aberdeenshire. Other events worth attending whilst visiting Aberdeen include, the Braemar Telemark Festival  (March), the Aberdeen Jazz Festival (March), the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival (April-May), the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival (June), The Wickerman, Tartan Day and the Stonehaven Fireball Festival. The Stonehaven festival is one of last remnants of an east coast fire festival traditionally held to see in the New Year.There are a superb selection of luxury Aberdeen hotels

The new part of Aberdeen known as the "Granite City" offers superb granite buildings and a wonderful range of superb restaurants, the best shops and a very lively ‘what’s on’ listing whenever you arrive. Coincidentally, if Aberdeen has so many attractions, why are its own people considered internationally well travelled? Why would they ever want to leave this wonderful place? They say you never seem to appreciate what is beneath your nose but the truth is that Aberdonians can look more forward to returning home more than the rest of us. Who could blame them? Everything is here! A pleasant climate, sandy beaches, the Lemon Tree (Aberdeen's own year round Festival Fringe), picturesque streets, warm friendly people, fishing villages worthy of a place on a postcard and Union Street where you find an awful lot of shops, as well as 3 shopping precincts!

Aberdeen is famously nicknamed the "City of Roses" with very good reason. A popular attraction and landmark in this area is that of Duthie Park's Rose Hill with over 12,000 different brilliant colours and assortments of Rose.

Aberdeen’s old town district has a historic air about it. The area known as Old Aberdeen is a preserved site, and was once a single burgh. Here you will encounter the cobbled high street with Provost Ross's House, the Aberdeen Art Gallery, the harbour and many other places of interest within a few hundred yards of one another. Don't miss an opportunity to visit Aberdeen University’s ancient King's College with its fifteenth century chapel and fixtures.

While visiting Aberdeen a lot of visitors are interested in the relationship between the city and North Sea. For many years North Sea oil reserves have fueled the growth and prosperity as well as devastating losses of life in the area. Visitors can see the Piper Alpha Memorial, a memorial garden situated in Hazelhead Park dedicated to the memory of the 167 oil workers lost to the North Sea in the tragedy of 1988. If you would like to find out more about oil exploration in the North Sea, the 5 Star Maritime Museum situated on the Shiprow, offers exhibitions on the fascinating subject well as an in depth insight to earlier (but equally as dangerous) forms of fishing and shipping in the region.

On the map, the area around Aberdeen and the Grampians seems to be very compact. This is far from the truth.  In reality, there is a huge expanse of territory to cover with plenty of attractions awaiting you at every corner and much will be missed if limited to public transport. Cycling out in the Aberdonian countryside is amazing and highly recommended for all able-bodied souls. For the rest of us,  swapping two wheels for four and exploring the glorious surrounding from behind the wheel of  a hire car from Dyce Airport has many attractions. For those fresh air lovers hiking is a highly enjoyable way to explore beautiful landscapes “off the beaten track”.


The Grampian Highlands

Walking is possibly the leading activity of the Grampians with so much to explore and virgin terrains which can only be found when travelling on foot. Hikers will enjoy a diverse landscape challenge from the exposed coast to the heights of the Grampian and Cairngorm mountains. If you are looking for an active pursuits holiday this Grampians area of Scotland will be the perfect solution! The offerings are generous from water-sports to gliding and cycling to horse riding. Off road driving is also on offer as well as exploring Scotland's official Long Distance footpaths.

Drive over to Balmoral and you will immediately realise why Queen Victoria fondly nicknamed this magical estate her "Paradise". Built as a holiday destination for the British Royal Family, the area is today enjoyed by many (non-royal) guests for its world famous sporting activities such as salmon and trout fishing in the River Dee and cycle races across the Royal estate.

Over at the coast there are a number of superb facilities for water sports. A popular event is that of the annual yacht race to and from Stavanger in Norway. The marina at Peterhead is extremely popular with visiting yachtsmen whilst yachting enthusiasts make for Findhorn at Moray Firth.