Blogs from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen August 25th 2022

One of the positives of coming to the UK during the summer months was to be the fact that we would be escaping the heat in Turkey. Well, there was quite a heat wave happening in the southern part of the UK so luckily our next commitment for cat sitting was farther north in Aberdeen, Scotland. We had heard that some of the trains weren’t running due to the heat of the tracks, but again, our luck was holding out and nothing interrupted our travels north. There also have been railway strikes, but fortunately none of the strike days have been on days we needed to travel, at least yet. We are keeping our fingers crossed that will continue. We had heard that the train ride from Newcastle along the coast was a beautiful one and ... read more
Enjoying the Views from the Train on Our Way
Crops Being Watered and Energy Produced
107.3 knots = 123.5 miles/hr - the train speed

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen May 30th 2022

Today we head north to Aberdeen and the eastern shoreline. The real purpose of this part of the trip is a bit of pre-retirement investigation. Our plan is to retire in either France or Spain (Carcassonne is currently the leading contender) and spend most of our time there, but when July and August come and the tourists, we are looking for somewhere a bit more remote but yet still accessible by train. This leads us to Scottish Coast. Ideally would be to find a lovey village like the one in Doc Martin. Our search will take us to several small villages along the coast, but more on that later. As for now, our train is at 9:30, allowing us a leisure final breakfast in the Old Waverly and a simple walk across the street to catch ... read more
Fish & Chips
Grilled Cheese Toastee
St. Nicholas Kirk

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen July 27th 2021

Dear All Greetings from Aberdeen! This is my second stop on my Scotland trip this summer, and like Edinburgh, I have used it as a base not just to explore the city, but also some of the wider surrounds. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Aberdeen, and this city is just right up my street – it is a big city with good amenities, is off-the-beaten tourist track, and has a fascinating background as an oil-production centre of Europe, and thus cosmopolitan enough to be welcoming. It is also unique in its granite-based nature of the city buildings, giving the urban landscape a stone-grey and imposing texture – the granite stones actually glisten in the sunlight, which is really quite cool! I arrived here on Saturday late afternoon, after having gotten two trains here from ... read more
Puffin
Marischal College
Me, Glen Moray Distillery

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen July 22nd 2018

Days 28 and 29 - By Car, Boat, and Train After breakfast we checked out and drove over to the beach. It was another lovely morning in Scotland, meaning the sun ALMOST came out. We stopped at the amusement park from last night and rode the VR roller coaster Michelle had been eyeing before we left. Then we headed to Innoflate, a new inflatable fun house. We got a nifty pair of lime green antimicrobial socks, and tickets for a half hour of bouncing. 30 minutes was PLENTY. After the first 15 minutes of bouncing, sliding, bouncing, climbing, bouncing, running through inflated obstacles, and more bouncing were ready for a break and wondering just how long we had been in there. Tony showed off his ability to launch small children into the air as well as ... read more
Scotland East Coast
Super Green
Bouncy Bouncy

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen June 21st 2018

With the sun rising just after 4am and curtains that did not block out the light, we stirred early, packed speedily and even with a leisurely cooked breakfast, were on the road to Aberdeen by 9am. We had missed the Cairngorms National Park on the last leg because it was pouring rain, so with that route still an option we decided the sun would entice us to take the scenic route. Trusting ourselves to the capricious Google maps we set off - realising as soon as we hit the mountains and thick forest that we only had a quarter tank of petrol! Carr Bridge was the first little town and we pulled in thankfully to the service station. So the little red Clio was fuelled for 80 something bucks but I struggled to find good food ... read more
Views in the Scottish highlands
Peter heading into another burn to find another ancestral mill!
Our accommodation at Ardoe House castle, a Mercure hotel

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen May 26th 2018

We arrived in Aberdeen Wed 23 May after driving through the picturesque fertile farming region of Angus/Aberdeen. And, yes, fields of gold everywhere. We checked in to the Great Western Guest House. The proprietors, Paul & Wanapat, were very welcoming and friendly. Our room had a big photo of Sydney Harbour on the wall. Cute! We teed off at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club at 8am the next day. A little cool. Light jumper and jacket stayed on for 18 holes. Royal Aberdeen is a reciprocal club of Royal Canberra. The club and the course lived up to our expectations. A typical links course and quite tough. I was advised to play the Green Tees - thank goodness! I lost no balls (possibly because I was in so many bunkers lol). Bill only lost one but not ... read more
Great night at Blackfriars Aberdeen
The Grampian Pride March Aberdeen
Balmoral

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen August 23rd 2015

Geo: 57.1475, -2.09539The ferry docked in Aberdeen at 7am, after a comfortable 12hr crossing. We were temporarily flummoxed by a lack of Internet connection (the ferry wi-fi was rubbish) and no downloaded Google maps to use. We (Robyn) got talking to a gent while we were looking at the Aberdeen Castle Gate. This fellow was a local who had an opinion on everything, and barely drew breath between sentences. He was entertaining and his stories sounded true. He did deliver on wi-fi though, and gave us the password for a local private network that got us up and running again.So we visited Aberdeen's Trump International Golf Course that apparently had heating under the resorts roads so they remained passable in icy weather. £215 green fees, but there were plenty of people playing. Then we drove south ... read more
Aberdeen Castle Gate
The white Carnoustie Hotel
The Kelpies near Falkirk

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen November 30th 2014

Last week I made the decision to step away from work in 2015. Many thanks to my bosses Peter & Ian for their patience in giving me the time to consider the available work options, however the call of trying something a bit different was just too strong. I will leave work at some stage in January 2015, head on a ski holiday the first week of Feb & then strike off to another part of the world to kick start a year (or so) of adventure. So, now what? In no particular order I plan to sort out the following: Sell or rent out my house; Follow up an initial plan of spending 2 months in Nepal (mid Feb to mid Apr); Book a trip to New York - part of 40th b'day celebrations with ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen April 21st 2013

I arrived via the train between Edinburgh and Aberdeen on a Sunday. For some reason my reserved seat was occupied by an obstinate woman who couldn’t seem to understand why she wasn’t allowed to sit with her family. Instead of arguing the merits of “reserved seating” I decided to find a different coach and deal with the substantially more appealing option of sitting next to someone other than this woman’s husband, daughter, and mother-in-law. After all, I was sick and in no mood to listen to a family bicker. This illustrates the importance of two critical perspectives when traveling: remain flexible; always look on the bright side. The train ride itself was pleasant enough and had some great scenery. I am very impressed with the amount of stone walls. I expected the tradition of stone walls ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Aberdeen May 4th 2012

Graeme gave us a lift to Aberdeen Airport. Our flight to the US is not until Saturday 5th May, but because it leaves London at 09:30, we have decided to travel the day before and we are staying at the Sheraton Skyline. We check -in and then go out to find somwhere to eat. We found a local pub called "The Pheasant". The food is really good with enormous potions. Once we have finished lounge we feel absolutelt stuffed, so much so that we go back to the hotel and rest for the rest of the day!! We were going to go to the hotel bar in the evening - but we do not make it and have an early night as we have an early start in the morning... read more




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