Travelers stories

Scotland is a country which offers travelers, tourists, holiday makers or whatever term you want to use, an abundance of wonderful places to visit. Some places are better known and more  popular than others and as result attract all the attention.

The five not so well known Scottish places, which  I have listed are maybe not well known, but they are all fantastic places, which are worthy of your attention, effort and time.

Nigg Bay & The Balnagask Headland: Aberdeen, a 2.5km walk around Aberdeen’s Balnagask headland gives an insight into the processes that formed the coastal landscape. With breathtaking views, the area is also abundant in a variety of wildlife.

You will take in spectacular views of Aberdeen harbour, lighthouses, an old fort, and rugged coastline, a pretty shingle beach and much more. At the Balnagask end there is a nice wee pub overlooking the harbour, waiting for you to quench your thirst.

Burn O ‘Vat: Near Dinnet, Aberdeenshire, Situated on low-lying ground, Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve (NNR) consists of extensive Birchwood, wetlands and heather moor. In its centre are two large lochs, Davan and Kinord, which provide a winter home for thousands of geese. To the west, you can find the hidden Vat, a spectacular geological feature famed for concealing the 18th Century outlaw, Gilderoy Macgregor.

There are many fine circular walks through the NNR, passing by such features as abandoned settlements and an ancient Celtic cross. There is an excellent visitor centre at the Burn O’Vat, to help you make the most of your visit.

Craigievar Castle: 6 miles south of Alford. This is an almost fairytale like looking castle which exemplifies Scottish baronial architecture. This great tower stands much like it did when it was built in 1626 by William Forbes.

Craigievar Castle is one of the best preserved tower houses in Scotland and is a great castle to visit and to take the tour of.

Cruden Bay Beach: Cruden Bay, a beautiful 2 mile arc of pink sands that form the bay of Cruden. Access to the superb beach is via a white wooden foot bridge, across the water of Cruden.

There is so much more to Cruden Bay than just the beach, it is a pretty enough village, with a golf course ranked in the top 100 in the world, the internationally know castle Slains Castle, which provided Bram Stoker with the inspiration to write Dracula is a short distance away.

Loch Muick: Lochnagar, This is a very popular walk round Loch Muick, in the shadow of Lochnagar. It is in an area where it is quite common to see large wild red deer.

Most of the walk is on fairly flat ground and part of it may be suitable for the disabled.It follows a route close to the Loch side with good views of the hills all around. After reaching a royal lodge there is a short wooded section. The walk then continues round the western end of the loch and goes past a sandy beach and a cascading stream, before rising slightly on the south-eastern side as it makes its way back to the start.

For those of you that are visiting Scotland and in particular using the Granite City Aberdeen as a holiday base, each of these great places are within about an hour’s drive of Aberdeen.  For those of you thinking about or are heading to Aberdeen, here is my must read article,  Aberdeen, Why Not Visit the Granite City?

I don’t think any country in the world can match Scotland for natural beauty, history and unpredictable weather, but for the truly adventurous that is one of the joys of travel.

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Aberdeen, situated on the coast of the north east of Scotland is a great holiday base. Not only does the city itself offer a multitude of visitor attractions, but it also has hundreds of great places within 1-2 hours drive nearby, including castles, mountains, near deserted beautiful beaches, picturesque wee villages and much more.

I feel Aberdeen even though in my opinion it is a fantastic holiday destination, many visitors who come to Scotland often overlook it. This is probably down to the Scottish tourist board and the Scottish Governments Edinburgh and Glasgow bias!  Also the local councils inadequate promotion of the city, and the many virtues that the city  offers  for tourists.

For those of you that have never been, or for that matter haven’t even heard of this great city, jump on a plane, train or car and make your way to Aberdeen, you wont be disappointed, it will make a great holiday base.

Things to do in Aberdeen:

Marishal College and Museum, is the Second largest  granite building in the world, it is a very impressive building and  a great free museum. Which features a collection of high quality material, most notably Egyptian and Classical antiquities, non-Western ethnography, Scottish prehistory and numismatics, which rank alongside the largest in Scotland.

The Gordon Highlanders Museum, this is a vibrant military museum located in the heart of Aberdeen and is home to the regimental treasures of the world-famous Gordon Highlanders.

Maritime Museum, Visitors can discover what it is like to live and work on a massive oil platform in the middle of the North Sea. Using models, real equipment and computer displays, the exhibitions bring the North Sea experience to life. The museum has sleek models of fast clipper ships, fishing displays and outstanding views of the harbour, another great free attraction.

Provost Skene’s House, This elegant 16th century town house now contains an attractive series of period room settings, recalling the graceful furnishings of earlier times.

Aberdeen Art Gallery, Housed in a Neo-Classical building, purpose built in 1884, Aberdeen’s splendid Art Gallery houses an important fine art collection with particularly good examples of 19th, 20th and 21st century works. The Gallery has a wide range of exhibitions with an emphasis on contemporary work and an impressive permanent collection featuring such names as Damian Hirst, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Francis Bacon, Monet and Renoir.

Torry Battery, Torry Point Battery has commanded the entrance to Aberdeen harbour since 1860. The Battery has had a long and varied history: by turns, it has been a coastal defence battery, emergency housing and a sanctuary for migratory birds. Today it is one of the best-loved historical monuments in Aberdeen. Free entry.

Duthie Park, the park has many artefacts including a bandstand, fountains, ponds, and statues. Within the park is the Winter Gardens, which were rebuilt in 1970. These house many exotic plants including the largest collection of cacti in Britain. This is a park for all the family, with activities from boating in the ponds to cricket on the lawns.

Old Aberdeen, a huge array of places to visit in this part of the city including, St Machar’s Cathedral, The 14th century Brig o’ Balgownie, Kings College, Powis Gate, and many more.

Aberdeen Beach, Amusement complex, including multiplex cinema, amusement park, ten-pin bowling, bingo, bars, restaurants etc

Aberdeen Beach and The promenade, a great place to hang out, walk and enjoy the fresh sea air, at the east end of the harbour is a former fishing village called “fittie” which is worth visiting.

Aberdeen also has a host of shopping centres, designer shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs which are as good as, or if not better than most cities.

Nearby Aberdeen:

Countless Castles, Including, Crathes, Fraser, Drum, Dunottar, Craigivar, Huntly, Fyvie, Balmoral.

Distillery Trail, the start of Scotland’s Malt Whisky Trail can be found in Grampian and features eight of the most famous Scottish distilleries and one cooperage.

The trail is famous for being the only malt whisky trail in the world and guides visitors through the North East and onwards into picturesque Speyside. The trail is about 70 miles (110km) long and weaves through some of Scotland’s most breathtaking countryside while taking in the traditional and distinctive distilleries.

Costal Trail, the trail takes in over 165 miles of unspoilt coastline and will take the tourist on a stunning journey featuring some of the North East of Scotland’s most breathtaking sights.

Stone Circle Trail, The North East of Scotland has an impressive history and heritage and this can be seen in the many stone circles, standing stones, Pictish ruins and centuries old cairns.

The Victorian Heritage Trail, the trail takes tourists on a grand tour of Queen Victoria’s favourite sights and locations and features a wide range of attractions that will leave the visitor with a lasting impression of the country and it’s rich history.

Royal Deeside, an area of outstanding beauty, sparkling Highland rivers and misty mountains.

Loch Muick, The wild expanse of Loch Muick, almost totally encircled by steep mountains, is surprisingly accessible. Located on the royal estate of Balmoral, under the shadow of Lochnagar, its surrounds are home to many types of wildlife, including mountain hare, grouse and herds of red deer.

Burn o’ Vat, situated on low-lying ground, Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve (NNR) consists of extensive Birchwood, wetlands and heather moor. In its centre are two large lochs, Davan and Kinord, which provide a winter home for thousands of geese. To the west, you can find the hidden Vat, a spectacular geological feature famed for concealing the 18th Century outlaw, Gilderoy Macgregor.

I have just giving you a wee sample of what Aberdeen and its surrounding area has to offer, I would run out of space with my web hosting company if was to write a complete list of all the great things to do and the fantastic places there is to vistit.

For those of you that would like to learn some Aberdeen and north east of Scotland local dialect, here is couple of great article that will help you  For Those Heading to the Granite City This Summer, Learn The Language! and Advanced Doric Phrases For Tourists Heading to the Granite City

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It’s coming to the main holiday season in Aberdeen and the north east of Scotland, for all of you tourists who will be descending on this beautiful part of Scotland, you will soon realise that some of the local people speak in a strange local dialect, which is known as Doric. Doric is a traditional dialect of spoken Scots, which has been used in the north east of Scotland for centuries; many people still commonly use various words and phrases from this ancient language.

I have put together a few words and phrases, which you are likely to come across when you arrive in the north east of Scotland.

Commonly Used Words:

Dreich - dismal
Weet - wet
Sassage - sausage
Neep - turnip
Bap - floury bap
Tattie - potao
Kirk - church
Shoppies - shops
Brae - slope
Hivven - heaven
Shakk - shake
Feart - afraid
Brig - bridge
Heid - head
Broo - forehead
Moo - mouth
Skweel - school

Some commonly used phrases and small talk:

Ay, ay - Hello, how are you, how do you do?
Foo;s yirsel; fit like yirsel? - Well, thank you. How are you?
Ailin; failin; hingin on; deid. - Unwell, getting worse, critical, unlikely to recover
Gie’s yir craak - Tell me your news
Fit’s aa the claik? - What’s the tittle tattle?
We’ll need tae hae a newse - We must have a chat
Gyad sakes! - I don’t much care for this!
Dinna be a stranger - Come again soon
Here’s yir haat. Fit’s yir hurry? - Must you really go now
I dinna come fae Torry onywye - There’s always someone worse off than yourself.
You’ll get it! - You’ll be punished
Tae get a lickin - To be punished

Help to keep this unique local language alive, by using it on your trip to the north east of Scotland, become part of the local culture and make an attempt at Doric.

I recently read an intersting article relating to Bajan local dialect which can be found at the 2milliondollarbills bog 20 Bajan Words That Will Make Your Trip to Barbados More Fun!

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