Aberdeen

Understand

thumb | 300px | Town House, the city hall Aberdeen is set in fertile lowlands and is the natural regional centre, becoming a city in 1179 when two villages grew into each other. Old Aberdeen is north, by the mouth of the River Don, and home to the University since 1495. New Aberdeen developed from 1136 two miles south near the mouth of the River Dee: this has a much better harbour and became the city centre. It was bashed about in conflicts until 1745, but then followed a long spell of peace and prosperity. Aberdeen was rebuilt in its signature grey granite along the broad axis of Union Street east-west, which intersects the historic coast road then at Castlegate turns north along King Street. So grand and confident were these buildings, they bankrupted the city in 1817, probably a civic first. Aberdeen recovered through its traditional industries based on farming, fishing, knitware and paper, but by the late 20th century these were in decline. The city was out on a limb, a long way from markets, materials and labour... and then they struck oil.

In the 1960s the North Sea was shown to have commercially exciting reserves of gas to the south and oil to the north, and the quirks of international frontiers awarded Britain the lion's share. This transformed UK politics and the economy, nowhere more so than in Aberdeen. The oilfields lay many miles offshore, but in a relatively shallow sea, and technology advanced to exploit them. Oil was brought ashore at Sullom Voe in Shetland …

Get in

thumb | 300px | "I'm bored with the Med, let's try Ineos, or Apache, or Nexen...."

See

thumb | 300px | Victoria Park Granite architecture is the defining feature of the city, though much is showing its age. See Read above for more on city architecture. Highlights are: Union Street has a mile-long stretch: but look up, the street frontage in many places is modern. Town House (city hall) is a confident Victorian example. Each building has its own style and scale, it's not like, say, Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne with a unified style. Marischal College on Broad Street has been nicely cleaned up. It was acclaimed by Betjeman as "tower on tower, forests of pinnacles, a group of palatial buildings rivalled only by the Houses of Parliament at Westminster". Castlegate has the baronial Salvation Army Citadel. Rosemount Viaduct has the elegant cluster of His Majesty's Theatre, St Mark's Church and the Central Library. thumb | 300px | Granite Buildings on Union Street stretches for two miles from Footdee by the harbour and mouth of the Dee to Donmouth near Old Aberdeen. It's sandy and popular for surfing and windsurfing; you'll need a wet suit as the North Sea is cold (not that you'd guess from those iconic 1920s railway publicity posters). It's flanked by an Esplanade, good for walking or running. The south Footdee end has a funfair, ice rink, and leisure centre, plus city facilities such as restaurants and a cinema. The quieter north end is flanked by King Links golf course and ends at the Donmouth wildlife reserve. (pronounced "Fitty") is a well-preserved fi…

Do

thumb | 300px | Robert Gordon University admin building What's on? For local events listen to Northsound 1 on 96.9, 97.6 & 103 FM, Northsound 2 on 1035 AM, and Original 106 on 106.8 & 106.3 FM. Or read the Press & Journal, which also publishes Evening Express. Deeside Way is a walking and cycling path from Aberdeen to Ballater along an old railway trackbed. The first section is along the north bank of the Dee, starting from the Polmuir Rd entrance to Duthie Park. It heads pretty much straight through Peterculter, Coalford and Dalmaik to Drumoak near Drum Castle, 10.6 miles. See Banchory for the next section west.

Buy

Union Street is the traditional shopping strip, but like High streets across Britain it's become hollowed out. The big stores have moved into the malls, while the independents have moved back a block or so, or folded.

Malls in city centre are Bon Accord Centre (entrances on Upperkirkgate and George Street), St Nicholas Centre (entrances on Upperkirkgate and St Nicholas Square), Trinity Centre (entrances on Union Street and Guild Street), The Academy (entrance on Schoolhill) and Union Square on Guild Street.

Independents: look for them on Rosemount Viaduct, Holburn Street, Rose Street, Chapel Street, Belmont Street, Upperkirkgate and The Green, with Rosemount Place further north.

Money: the major banks are found on Union St and Union Square, with half-a-dozen ATMs. Bank hours are typically M-F 9:30AM-4:30PM, with some open Saturday morning.

Markets: Castlegate has a general outdoor market Friday mornings. The Farmers Market is on Belmont St last Saturday of the month 9AM-5PM.

Eat

The Aberdeen buttery or rowie is a cross between a pancake and a croissant. They have a flaky yet heavy texture and are very salty. They're served plain or with butter or jam to make a tea-time or mid-afternoon snack. They're seldom found in cafes or restaurants, you buy them in bakeries or supermarkets to eat at home or on the go.

Drink

thumb | 300px | Archibald Simpson Bar, Castle Street Oh, Samson was a mighty man, he fad on fish 'n chips and walkit doon the Gallowgate, picking up the nips - most Bible scholars place this episode in Glasgow, but it could be anywhere with a low opinion of Edinburgh

As elsewhere, smoking is illegal indoors in pubs. It may be permitted outdoors in the beer garden.

Belmont Street is the drinking strip north side of Union St, near the bus and railway stations. Watch out for drunken belligerent fellows like Samson, staggering towards his last bus for Gaza after a drouthy evening getting eyeless. Siberia Vodka Bar at 9 Belmont Street has rooms, see Sleep. thumb | 300px | Aberdeen Harbour: the day's brightening up, the ferry shouldn't be too heaving

Old city centre is a little further east, where Union St meets Castle St. Two blocks south are The Quays. West where Union St gets over the 200 numbers has another strip, along with Langstane Place a block south. Distilleries: The big-name whisky distilleries are some miles northwest towards the Grampians and Spey Valley. City of Aberdeen Distillery makes gin and offers tours. It's on Palmerston Rd (east side of railway) one block south of Union Square. House of Elrick distils gin in Newmachar north of the airport.

Sleep

thumb | 300px| South end of the Esplanade

Stay safe

Aberdeen is broadly safe, but you need to use your street sense. There is the usual motley crowd of drunks, beggars, rough sleepers and sex workers. Aggressive drunks are the main hassle, especially at weekends: the centre is heavily policed but trouble can flare in a moment. Some drunks are capable of assaulting lampposts that they reckon have looked at them amiss, so English football colours are a red rag to a bull. Above all don't be drunk or drugged yourself.

Areas to avoid, especially after dark, are Tillydrone (north of Bedford Road and east of St Machar Drive) and Torry (the south bank of River Dee).

Connect

As of Oct 2021, city centre has 5G from all UK carriers. This doesn't extend very far out but all the burbs and the airport have 4G. Wifi is widely available in public places.