Next Tours
NO TOURS 26 JUNE - 16 JULY: STAFF HOLIDAYS
WEDNESDAY 17 JULY 2019:
FORGOTTEN FERRYHILL - ABERDEEN'S GEORGIAN SUBURB
Perennial favourite walk, set in Aberdeen’s first Georgian suburb of Ferryhill, so named because of the ferry between Craiglug and Wellington Road which operated before the suspension bridge was built in 1830.
Including the dodgy dealings which whisked Arthurseat estate away from its missing owner, the story behind the flamboyant Devanha House, the "lost" Dee Village, some of Ferryhill's fabulous architectural origins, and the tale of the arctic explorer who retired to South Crown Street. And, the creepy legend which concerns a mysterious hole which opened up in what was the garden of the old Cowdray Club. We round off at Hygeia’s statue, Duthie Park, the memorial for Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie, founder of the park. Enjoy your supper beforehand with our friends at Inn at the Park Hotel, Polmuir Road
Meet: "Dee Village" / Old Hydro Electric Building flats - at bus stop across from New China takeaway (MAP)
End: Duthie Park
Starts: 7.30pm
Duration: Approx 2hrs
TICKETS: £10/8. Click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow
THURSDAY 18 JULY 2019:
THE OLD KING'S HIGHWAY - ABERDEEN'S ANCIENT SOUTHERN ROAD
Meeting at the start of the "Old Kings Highway", that is the ancient route from the city's medieval border at Windmill Brae, we head for the Lang Stane and Justice Mill Lane, sites of battles past, head down onto the old Hardgate, the one-time main drove road into Aberdeen from the south. Following the route of the Howburn (transmuted to Holburn St), we cross into the lost suburb of Pitmuxton, see the old Holburn St station site, and head past Outseats House, the home of the Blaikie family, which included two provosts, lawyers, a doctor and the city's first master plumber, John Blaikie, then we join Riverside Drive, architect, James Forbes Beattie's vision for a grand carriageway, over the Packhorse Brig and finishing at the Brig o Dee, which has stood for over 5 centuries as the southern entrance to the burgh of Aberdeen. A ramblers' special, our longest walk at 3.16 miles - therefore fairly strenuous and not suitable for those with mobility problems.
Start: Outside To-Go Kebab Shop, 6 Bath Street, AB11 6HY (MAP)
End: Bridge of Dee at the very foot of Riverside Drive (opposite Lorne Buildings)
Starts: 7.30pm
Duration: Approx 2.25hr
Tickets: £10/8. Click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow
This is the ONLY FULL King's Highway Tour - following the whole route out to Brig of Dee. Don't settle for pale imitations!
SATURDAY 20 JULY 2019: MINI TOURS DAY
OLD ABERDEEN'S HISTORICAL SECRETS 11AM
A zip through Old Aberdeen's history comparing the 20th century and medieval quadrangles, hearing the stories of Elphinstone Hall, New Kings and Kings College; visit the hidden remains of the Snow Kirk and the tales attached to the Powis estate represented today by the impressive gates which replicated the former towers in the old quad.
MEET: Outside Elphinstone Hall, Kings Lawn, Old Aberdeen, AB24 3SW (MAP)
ENDS: Kings Quad
Starts: 11am
Duration: Approx. 1 hour
TICKETS: £5 all tickets; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow
FITTIE: ABERDEEN'S PLANNED FISHER VILLAGE 2PM
Beginning on Pocra Quay near the site of the original Block House, a stone fort first erected in the 15th century to protect the city from "English invaders", we follow the fall and rise of the fisher residents of the Kirktoun of Futty, who forced the council into providing them a new home when harbour development threatened to obliterate the old village of Pockraw in the late 18th century. Featuring the picturesque Fisher Squares, designed by city architect, John Smith aka "Tudor Johnny", who also designed the new St Clements' Kirk in 1828.
MEET: Footdee War Memorial, Pocra Quay, AB11 5DQ (MAP)
STARTS: 2pm
ENDS: Roundhouse, Pocra Quay
DURATION: 1hr approx
TICKETS: £5 all tickets; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow
MONDAY 22 JULY 2019:
ABERDEEN'S BLITZ - REMEMBERING 21 APRIL 1943
Aberdeen was nicknamed "Siren City" during WW2 after a terrible raid in the Spring of 1943 in which 130 bombs were dropped by the Luftwaffe in one hour. This tour follows the route of the bombers and looks at the devastation caused through archive photos of the sites and reminiscences of the time. Starting outside the old Kittybrewster Railway Station - now the council depot opposite Belmont Rd - we walk a path through the residential streets of Bedford and Elmbank, by St Stephen's Church which was badly damaged, and through the centre of town taking in the industrial districts of Berryden and the Broadford Works, ending at Charlotte Street, where the only concrete air raid shelter to be hit was situated. A sometimes moving historical account of war-time Aberdeen.
Wear sensible footwear. Parking - either on Leslie Terrace/ Stafford Street or in the Depot car park after hours
MEET: Aberdeen City Council Environmental Depot, 38 Powis Terrace AB25 3RF (MAP)
ENDS: John Street nr Cooper's Bar
STARTS: 7.30pm (be there at least 10min before start)
DURATION: Approx 2.25hr
TICKETS: £10/8. Click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow
WEDNESDAY 24 JULY 2019
LOST LOCHLANDS - GEORGE STREET & ENVIRONS
Beginning from the site of the old Loch of Aberdeen, we take a trip back in time to recall the shops, churches, schools, cinemas and public baths which were situated in this area. Many folk will remember ‘The Rubber Shop’, Isaac Benzies, Maxwells, the City Cinema, Gallowgate Middle School with its ‘Pond’ – we hope to recreate those memories and reveal more about medieval George St and the Lochlands when the loch was still the main source of water for the city. A circular walk beginning and ending at John Lewis', George Street. Suitable for wheelchair users. Total length 1.48 miles
MEET: John Lewis Store, George Street, AB25 1BW (MAP)
STARTS: 7.30pm
DURATION: 2hrs approx
TICKETS: £10/8; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow
MONDAY 29 JULY 2019
BLOOD & GRANITE: THE MURDER HISTORY TOUR
SOLD OUT
TICKET HOLDERS MEET: Park Road Gate, Trinity Cemetery, Aberdeen AB24 5PA (MAP)
STARTS: 8pm (NOTE DIFFERENT TIME)
DURATION: 2hrs approx
WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST: ST MARGARET'S GALA WEEK TOUR
GALLOWGATE: ABERDEEN'S BORDERLANDS - THE NORTH
A Special Run of this tour in conjunction with St Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Gallowgate as part of their Gala Week.
Continuing from its launch in 2018, first in a series of four, covering "Aberdeen's Borderlands". The Gallowgate represented the way to the city's Northern border, Mounthooly, as Aberdon was a separate burgh until 1891.
From its earliest origins as the first site of civic executions to the home of the city's earliest thread mill, Porthill, the Gallowgate has changed rapidly through time. An industrial area from earliest medieval times with the home of the Tannery near Broadgate, and later Soapy Ogston's; site of the Quakers' burying ground, often dug up by an less than supportive council; the home of "Mar's Castle", a curious building latterly used for the medical students to hold their earliest meetings of the Medico-Chirurgical Society; and the site of the famous Middle School, the first to have a swimming pool in the city. Gallowgate hides many secrets, we will attempt to reveal some on this tour.
MEET: Outside Marischal College, Main Entrance, Broad Street, AB10 1YS (MAP)
ENDS: Mounthooly Roundabout
STARTS:7.30pm
DURATION: 2hrs approx
TICKETS: £10/8; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow
SATURDAY 3 AUGUST: MINI TOURS DAY
OLD TORRY - THE LOST VILLAGES 12 noon
A mini-tour set in the historic royal burgh of Torry covering almost eight centuries of history in one hour! starting at old St Fittic.k’s Kirk which was built in the 13th century, and following a direct line over the Balnagask Motte, down Baxter Street and into the site of the Victorian fisher village. Includes tales of the Davidsons, last lairds of Torry; the Dee Ferry Disaster and the medieval fisher villag
of Torry which disappeared in 1876 due to harbour.
Meet: Old St Fittick's Kirk, Greyhope Road/ St Fittick's Park, Torry AB11 8TP (MAP)
Ends: Sinclair Road, Torry
Duration: approx 60min
Tickets: £5 all tickets, click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow
ROSEMOUNT MINI RAMBLE 3PM
Developed from the full length Rosemount Ramble, focusing on the hidden gem of Mackie Place, the 18th century cul-de-sac owned by hide-skinner, Robert Mackie, who commissioned the distinctive ogee-shaped "White House" and the remaining tenement of no's 4-5, and Jack's Brae, where there were industries galore, including Strachan's Mill, Paterson's Tannery and later the North of Scotland Bedding Company. There's the story of St John's Well, the main fresh water source for the inhabitants of Jack's Brae and Hardweird; George Dickie, the owner of Cherryvale, a long-lost mansion, who tried to block the owners of the White House/Galleries from overlooking his garden. Three hundred years of history in 60min!
Meet: The Cult of Coffee, 28 Esslemont Avenue, Rosemount, AB25 1SN (MAP)
Ends: Grammar School Gates
Duration: approx 60min
Tickets: £5 all tickets, click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow
MONDAY 5 AUGUST:
GALLUS QUINES - ABERDEEN'S PIONEERING WOMEN
A brand new indoor history talk featuring some of the city's sometimes forgotten pioneer women, like Hilda Wernham, co-founder of Aberdeen Cyrenians; Louisa Lumsden, champion for women's higher education; Rachel, Lady MacRobert, founder of the MacRobert Trust, following the death of all three sons in the RAF, Annie Pearson, Lady Cowdray, the patroness of the RCN and many more.
Join us in the cosy surroundings of the Cult of Coffee where you can buy coffee/tea/cakes to suit yourself. They have a great vegan selection too. The evening is broken up into two sections, with a 20min interval. Suitable for young people of age 8 and above; venue is disability accessible. Parking available in Leadside Road for free after 6pm or Grammar School car park.
Venue: The Cult of Coffee, 28 Esslemont Avenue, Rosemount, AB25 1SN (MAP)
Doors Open: 7pm
Event Start: 7.30pm
Duration: approx hr
Tickets: £10/8, click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow
New dates will be added very soon!
Please note, if dates are not shown it means there are no tours planned yet for those dates or they are free for private bookings.
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