Aberdeen

Scotland's northern gem, Aberdeen has become one of the richest cities in the UK thanks to a tide of North Sea Oil. The city exudes elegance and class, from the wine bars of its city center to the Royal Estate at Balmoral. 

The "Granite City" was here well before the oil began to flow, and it has a gorgeous historical core, with boutiques housed in 18th-century premises on Union Street, superb museums, and fabulous food (and whisky).

You can escape to sublime golf courses on the coast, tour the castles and pubs of Royal Deeside, or confine yourself to one of the UK's most atmospheric, beguiling cities.

Aberdeen is also called “the silver city with the golden sands”, and has fantastic beaches. You can walk the coastal stretch from Footdee, a fishing village at the mouth of the large harbour, to the dunes at Balmedie in around three hours, then get the 54 bus back into town. Close to the harbour, Aberdeen Maritime Museum (free) offers a great way to learn about the city’s relationship with the sea – from the early days of clippers and shipbuilding to the North Sea oil and gas industry – and includes a 1:33 scale model of an oil rig.

For a vegan dinner Foodstory Cafe on central Thistle Street is a laid-back space, with live music, workshops and pop-up shops, such as plant sales. It serves wraps, soups, raw brownies and bowls filled with chilli, sushi or falafel – and it’s BYOB in the evening. Spin-off zero-waste cafe, Food Story Zero, is on the university campus in Old Aberdeen, an area that’s worth a wander. More centrally, Melt 2 calls itself the “home of grilled cheese” and does toasted sandwiches with gooey cheese, pickles, meats (including haggis) or veggie chilli (from £4). The Green is home to the monthly Inspired Nights street food market in warmer months (restarts April 2020); Cafe 52 serves tapas and modern British (mains £10) in an atmospheric old building; and try Contour for coffee and cake.

There is a wealth of street art across Aberdeen, a lot of which was created as part of the Nuart street art festival, which takes place every April. It has been a big deal for Aberdeen since it started three years ago – with works created around the city by an array of international artists. Download a map of the art here and look out for (in particular) Jan Vormann’s Dispatchwork – several small Lego installations in the walls around The Green, the city centre marketplace – and the Glöbel Brothers’ mural on Willowbank Road gable end, in the style of a retro advertisement. Free walking tours also run from January to September. Other festivals on Aberdeen’s calendar include the Spectra festival of light in February, Dance Live in October, and the Sound festival of new music in November.

For a taste of something truly Aberdonian, ice-cream maker Mackie’s has a cafe on Marischal Square, called Mackie’s 19.2 after the distance in miles to the family farm and factory in to the north-west. The company is always coming up with new seasonal flavours – for Burns Night this year it created a remarkable haggis and orange marmalade edition, and last Christmas it was minted brussels sprouts, gingerbread and Christmas pudding flavours. There was also a special rowie (a buttery roll, like a savoury croissant) and jam version, made for Aberdeen Performing Arts, which runs three local theatres.

Lesser-known art spaces have been popping-up around the city in recent years. Among them is the Look Again Project Space on St Andrew Street, which was an empty shop that has been repurposed as an exhibition space. It showcases contemporary art and design by local artists through an initiative with Gray’s School of Art, part of the Robert Gordon University. Five minutes away on Queen Street, the Anatomy Rooms artists’ studios run public events, such as makers’ fairs and workshops, as well as classes and performances by in-house contemporary dance company City Moves. On Rosemount Place, the independent, artist-run Kekun Studio runs exhibitions and workshops.

You wouldn’t normally think about going to see art in a hospital but Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has a fantastic changing collection on display on its corridor walls, as well as a dedicated in-house gallery, the Suttie Arts Space. It’s run in conjunction with the Grampian Hospitals Arts Trust and is open to the public as well as patients. Well make sure you're not travelling during this corona age.

 Curated Stories on Claremont Street, at the western end of main drag Union Street, does a range of Scandi-inspired gifts and clothing, plus antiques – and hosts pop-up shops from the likes of vintage homewares seller Hume. Back on The Green, independent clothing boutique Hanon sells limited-edition trainers and T-shirts printed for Nuart. There are also lots of unique items being sold in the new Aberdeen Art Gallery shop – prints from Martin Parr’s Think Of Scotland exhibition, as well as jewellery made from reclaimed granite from the old, pre-refurbished gallery space.

With beers called Peloton, Velo and Bombini, it’s no surprise that the owner of Belgian-style microbrewery Six°North, Robert Lindsay, is a keen cyclist who also runs a cycle sportive as part of the Midsummer Beer Happening, which takes place a few miles south in Stonehaven each June. The brewery first opened south of the city in 2013, and five bars followed across Scotland, starting with the one on Aberdeen’s Littlejohn Street. The intimate bar serves bar snacks such as poutine and brisket wraps. This is a good area for a mini local-brew crawl, with two Brewdog joints nearby, as well as a bar run by Fierce Beer, which also does daily tours of its brewery close to Aberdeen airport.

Last used for defence in the second world war, the historic Torry Battery site is now a popular spot for dolphin watching. A pod of bottlenoses live at the mouth of the harbour and can be spotted throughout the year. The view from here also takes in the promenade, where Aberdeen meets the North Sea. It really feels like the edge of Scotland – the next stop is Norway. There are also seabirds, seals, otters and whales to spot. A project called Greyhope Bay is planning to add a viewing platform, a cafe and outdoor exhibits to the battery, and hold special events.

Hope this helped !!!