Aberdeen Area

Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen

Collieston

Aberdeen Harbour

Area Main Page

Aberdeen is Scotland's third city, and usually known as the Granite City after its main building material. It has been an important centre since at least the 1100s when King David I established a port at the mouth of the River Dee.

The sea has been vital to Aberdeen throughout its history, and it remains so. In 1970 oil was discovered in the North Sea and Aberdeen became the major service centre for the many oilfields: as well as the location for the headquarters of many of the oil companies. This has made its airport one of the busiest in the UK, and transformed the fortunes of the city and the surrounding area.

For the visitor, Aberdeen offers a wide range of accommodation and all the shopping, restaurants, bars and other services you might want. It also has a fine city centre focused on the deliberately grand, mile long, Union Street. And for those looking for a slightly more peaceful environment Aberdeen also has an attractive two mile long sandy beach stretching between the mouths of the River Don to the north and the River Dee to the south. But before you think of unpacking the swimming costume, remember that Aberdeen is further north than Moscow.

Many visitors will find Aberdeen's most attractive nooks and crannies in the area between Union Street and the harbour: though the large and busy harbour itself reflects the city's continuing and very active role supporting the oil industry.

The main inland settlement in the area lies north west of Aberdeen, in the form of the prosperous farming (and commuting) town of Inverurie. As in Aberdeen, granite is everywhere. A little west of Inverurie is the hill called Bennachie, just over 500m high. This is widely thought to be the site of the battle of Mons Graupius in AD84, where the tribes of Caledonia finally stood their ground against the advancing Romans under Agricola. History suggests they lost 360 men compared with over 10,000 lost by the Caledonians. But while the Romans may have won the battle, they never quite conquered the country (see our Historical Timeline).

Five miles east of Inverurie is the attractive village of Oldmeldrum, complete with Glen Garioch distillery in a side street near its centre. Southwest, on the A93 near Banchory, is the superb Crathes Castle.

North of Aberdeen the coastline comprises sand dunes, links and golf courses for more than fifteen miles to the mouth of the River Ythan at Newburgh. Here the landscape changes and the rocks and low cliffs of Collieston replace the dunes. North again is Cruden Bay, on the rocky headland at the north end of the wide and sandy Bay of Cruden. Close to Cruden Bay are the clifftop ruins of Slains Castle: a candidate for the title of Scotland's oddest and perhaps spookiest ruin.