Aberdeenshire is home to an impressive collection of prehistoric stone circles, indeed around 10% of the UK’s stone circles are in the region. Step back in time by visiting one or more of these ancient sites. Feel the ravages of millennia caught in stone; saviour these keepers of the past. Hear a sonnet of time […]

A stunning oasis in the heart of Aberdeen, Duthie Park offers a moment of pure peace, a lesson in botany, a nugget of Victorian nostalgia, or a child’s hour of adventure in its playground. There is truly something for everyone. The Victorian bandstand stands supreme, surrounded by a large grass play area, mature trees and […]

The Culsh Monument is a striking tower near the Central Buchan village of New Deer. Its spire soars to the sky as though communicating with angels; and perhaps it is, as a memorial to a local “angel”, Liberal MP William Dingwall Fordyce (1836-1875). Fordyce campaigned for the workers on his estate, introducing insurance for workers’ […]

Belmont Street in Aberdeen boasts some of the finest independent coffee shops in the city. Dating from the late 18th century, the granite buildings hold distant history like secrets to their chest, each shop and café façade hiding the ghosts of the past within. The cobbled street runs between Union Street and the Art Gallery, […]

Haddo Country Park has something for everyone, with a stunning lake walk and opportunity to bird watch, to a Victorian garden and a children’s playpark. In autumn, Haddo turns in to a red and yellow wonderland, its trees bright like stars fallen from the sky. As winter claims the land, these same trees stand tall, […]

Pitmedden is a delightful village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire. It boasts country walks and community connection, a village of friendships and fortitude. On Monday 9th November the first ever Pitmedden Community Café opened, in a previous hotel building recently acquired by the Udny Community Trust. The former hotel will now become a community […]

Pitmedden House and Gardens are Aberdeenshire’s hidden gem in the heart of Formartine. A National Trust property, the delightful and unique gardens are open during the spring and summer, featuring box hedges and a variety of flowers and shrubs in pleasing patterns. It is a garden like no other, truly the secret garden of the […]

The Old Auction Room in Strichen (north Aberdeenshire) is a must visit for lovers of the unusual and the unexpected, and for the discerning curiosity collector. A plain building on Strichen’s High Street belies the wonders that lie within. A treasure chest of jewels, authentic art, fabulous furniture, outlandish ornaments and time-touched trinkets will mesmerise […]

The town of Ellon, approximately fifteen miles north of Aberdeen, is the crown of ancient region Formartine, a jewel on the banks of the river Ythan. The river winds wound the town like a mother’s embrace, the town a well nurtured child of raw rural lineage. History hisses as the river runs past, a timeless […]

Every year, new street art breathes fire through the heart of Aberdeen, flames of creativity hissing round corners, kissing the mundane goodbye. The darkest street is transformed; tall grey buildings suddenly stun with colour. Modern art moves through the town like molten lava, consuming the ugly within its path, painting a new Aberdeen, ready for […]