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Aberdeen

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Aberdeen
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Aberdeen Travel Guide

  • About Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest city, balancing 8,000 years of history with a modern-day role as an oil industry powerhouse.While Glasgow and Edinburgh might outrank it in size and style, a trip to Aberdeen today reveals somewhere with a modern pulse, strong heritage and a lively cultural scene. The country’s largest national park and an imposing coastline both sit nearby. Aberdeen has become a city worth exploring in its own right.Built on the banks of the rivers Dee and Don, Aberdeen is widely known as The Granite City – a reference to the hardy, silvery rock used in much of its iconic architecture. On sunny days, the city’s buildings sparkle.The heart of Old Aberdeen lies across the Brig O’Balgownie (one of the oldest bridges in Britain), and it’s here that you’ll find the 500-year-old King’s College and its famous dome-crowned tower.Elsewhere, prominent sights include the neo-gothic Town House in Union Street, the castellated Citadel on Castlegate, and the striking Marischal College on Broad Street.Aberdeen’s other face – that of the “Oil Capital of Europe” – comes thanks to the discovery of North Sea oil back in the 1970s, followed by gas. It helped transform the city from one of the poorest in the UK to one of the richest.As a result of local transport, accommodation, and businesses improving, the airport and port expanded. A cosmopolitan vibe, busy arts calendar and buzzing café culture began to accompany the city’s rise in fortunes. Annual festivals cover everything from jazz to science, while the dining scene now ranges from traditional tearooms to high-end restaurants.The region has welcomed other visitor developments too. Donald Trump controversially opened a £1 billion golf complex, (the ‘world’s greatest golf course’), in Aberdeenshire in 2012, with a championship links course, a luxury hotel, and a golf academy.
  • Aberdeen History
One of the oldest cities in the UK, Aberdeen started life more than 8,000 years ago and was made up of two settlements: Old Aberdeen close to the mouth of the River Don and New Aberdeen, where a stream met the River Dee. Thanks to its waterside location, it swiftly became a key trading port, exporting wool, hides and other goods to England and beyond.England was a source of much strife in years to come, not least during the reign of Edward I, the Hammer of the Scots, whose armies ruled the city. Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle in 1308 and retook the city. But by 1336, the English were back, and the city was burned by Edward III before being rebuilt and fortified.Despite the ravages of the Black Death, the subsequent centuries and union with England brought peace and the opportunity to trade. Much of its prosperity came from fishing and transporting goods but during the 18th and 19th centuries, agriculture, granite quarrying and manufacturing brought yet more wealth to fill the city’s coffers.The dawn of the 20th century found Aberdeen prospering, but like the rest of the UK, it would suffer grievously during WWI and the Great Depression that followed. During WWII, the city was heavily bombed with one Luftwaffe raid seeing no fewer than 129 bombs dropped on the centre.Post-war Aberdeen was heavily bomb-damaged, with a decline in manufacturing adding to the city’s malaise. But the discovery of oil in the North Sea was to change its fortunes once more, with Aberdeen now a hub of UK oil production.Today, aside from its architecture, the city is famed for its 45 parks and gardens and its plethora of flowers. Millions of roses, crocuses and daffodils have been planted across the city, helping Aberdeen to win the annual Scotland in Bloom competition no less than 20 times.
  • Did you know?
Established in 1136, Aberdeen Harbour Board is Britain’s oldest business. The first photograph of a comet was taken in Aberdeen in 1882. The Thermopylae, the fastest sailing ship ever built, was made in the city in 1868.
  • Weather in Aberdeen
Aberdeen has an oceanic climate marked by warm summers and mild winters. Rainfall is consistent throughout the year with 20 to 24 rainy days a month, so pack a raincoat with you.Spring (March to May) is mild with an average high of 8°C (46°F) in March and 13°C (55°F) in May. Visitors will also adore the sweet vibes during the Aberdeen Jazz Festival in March.Summer (June to August) is the best time to visit Aberdeen as the weather is warm and the city plays host to a string of festivals. Days are wonderfully long, reaching 18 hours during the summer solstice thanks to its northern latitude. In July, the average high is 18°C (64°F) while the average low is 10°C (50°F).Autumn (September to November) sees temperatures falling steadily and by November, the average high drops to 8°C (46°F) while the average low is 3°C (37°F).Winter (December to February) is wet and cold with visitors tend to be skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts visiting the nearby ski resorts (Cairngorm Mountain, Glenshee and The Lecht). In January, the average high is 5°C (41°F) while the average low is 0°C (32°F).

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