Scotland: Aberdeen

We rented a car in Edinburgh, and took our time driving to Aberdeen (the quick route is less than 3 hours), taking coastal roads as much as possible.  We poked into villages, but mostly just enjoyed the scenery. Buildings switched from the red brick and stone that we’d seen so much of to light shades of stucco.

Late in the day, we came across Dunnottar Castle, but only took a snapshot from afar after reading in the info that most people take a couple of hours to walk down and have time to explore.

We found our accommodations (The Globe Inn), a pleasantly updated room right above a busy pub–handy for a quick dinner and drink before settling in for the night.

We had only one full day to explore Aberdeen, so went walking about after breakfast. It was surprising to look down the hill of an old-town street and see part of the hull of a ship, or a refinery tank. Though historically Aberdeen was a ship-building and fishing town, it is now also about oil and gas. The vehicles are huge here compared to the wee ones we’d been driving among elsewhere.

Here, granite is the predominant building material, so the buildings are grey, with many modern additions of glass and metal, and a splash of colour here and there.

Realizing there was more to see than we could cover on foot, we set out for a drive to the beach and the Footdee (Fittie) area. This is a fascinating tiny old fishing village on a spit of land that is hemmed in by an oil refinery and waterways.

Next, we drove up the coast a ways in search of Slain’s Castle, enjoying the scenery along the way.

According to Ken’s research, we had to park and then walk about 20 minutes. We parked and started our walk with the skies looking a bit menacing. A few minutes from the castle we were pelted with hail and rain, but also noticed several cars right out in front. Apparently the research was old and driving in was possible. We tried to seek shelter in a roofless castle ruin. Photo ops were numerous, but with no rain protection, all results would be spotted. So we packed it in, I stuffed the camera inside my coat, and we tromped back to the car in the wind and rain.

Back in Aberdeen, we drove to a viewpoint across from Fittdee for a different perspective. We couldn’t get to the ruins, as much of the seaside access was closed in preparation for the Guy Fawkes fireworks display that night (fireworks that we heard, but did not watch, opting for a warm room for both of us and a wee dram from the pub for Ken).