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A Guide To Aberdeen

By: Terry Cod Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Aberdeen offers an assortment of wonderful scenery from an unspoilt waterfront on the east coast to the amazing Grampians to the west. Being one of the largest cities in Scotland, expect the city to have a wealth of cosmopolitan places of interest from the arts to sites of historical interest and a wealth of shopping opportunities. This area is responsible for that mad drawer of crowds and alcohol lovers, the Malt Whisky Trail. Once you have recovered from sampling the malts of eight distilleries, there is the Castle Trail to take in amidst the region's most stunning of views. There is golf, skiing and much more to be found here in Aberdeen and the Grampians.

You can look forward to some form of celebration to be going on during your trip to Aberdeen. The local population and the visitors often get together to remember the history of the region with long established spectacles such as the Lonach Highland Gathering and Games, known locally as the “Friendly Games”. They are held each year on the 4th Saturday in August at nearby Strathdon. Other festivals to look out for when visiting the city include the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival (April-May), the Braemar Telemark Festival (March), Tartan Day, the Aberdeen Jazz Festival (March), The Wickerman and the Stonehaven Fireball Festival. The Stonehaven event is one of the last remaining of an east coast fire festival traditionally held to celebrate the New Year.

Aberdeen city centre offers grand granite buildings and endless supplies of the finest restaurants, shops to suit all types and a truly informative ‘what’s on’ listing whenever you arrive. It's easy to understand why so many Aberdonians get homesick so easily. Who would blame them? Everything is here! A dry, cool climate, sandy beaches, the Lemon Tree (the Aberdeen version of the world famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe), pretty streets, warm friendly people, historic fishing villages and Union Street (the main shopping street), as well as 3 shopping malls!

Aberdeen is famously nicknamed the "City of Roses" with good reason. A popular landmark and attraction in these parts is the Rose Hill at Duthie Park with in excess of twelve thousand different variations of Rose.

Aberdeen’s old town district has a wonderful historic feeling about it. Known as "Old Aberdeen", the old town has been carefully preserved and restored. Here you will encounter the cobbled high street with Aberdeen Art Gallery and many other places of interest within close proximity:a few miles of each other. Don't forget to look around the University of Aberdeen's ancient King's College with its fifteenth century chapel and fixtures.

While in the City of Aberdeen many visitors explore the correlation between the city and North Sea. For many years North Sea oil reserves have played a huge part in the growth and prosperity as well as many heartbreaking losses of the region. Tourists can pay their respects at the Piper Alpha Memorial, a beautiful rose garden dedicated to the memory of the 167 oil workers lost to the North Sea in that tragedy of 1988. The Maritime Museum on the Shiprow has a number of fascinating exhibits illustrating the synergy between the City of Aberdeen and the fishing and oil industries associated with the city.

On the map, the region around Aberdeen and the Grampian Mountains appears very compact. This is totally untrue. In truth there is a huge expanse of territory to cover, with sights and attractions around every corner and much to miss if limited to public transport. Cycling in this wonderfully scenic area is amazing but it's a hilly area and it's definitely an activity only recommended for the young and agile amongst us. For the remainder, the use of four wheels rather than two has many attractions as a way to see the wonderful sights and countryside in this beautiful part of the world.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: This article on the area around Aberdeen was written by Terry Cod, a writer with a deep love of Scotland and its way of life. He is the owner of www.online-hotel-bookings.co.uk/ offering a wide range of hotels in Scotland.