Things to Do in Aberdeen
Set among the wooded countryside of Aberdeenshire, the 16th-century Crathes Castle is known for its ties to Robert the Bruce. The tower house’s interior features original painted ceilings, portraits, and antique furniture, while the 593-acre (240-hectare) estate encompasses walled gardens and parkland threaded by marked trails.
Just north of St. Andrews’ town center, the ruins of St. Andrews Castle sit on a windswept headland overlooking a beach. Dating from around 1200, the castle was the main residence of St. Andrews’ bishops and archbishops, and the main administrative center of the Scottish church in medieval-era Scotland.
The origins of Drum Castle, one of Scotland’s oldest tower houses, can be traced back to the 14th century. Home to the Irvine family for more than six centuries, Drum Castle, Garden & Estate—now owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS)—features a medieval grand hall, a Jacobean mansion house, a Victorian-era library, and an ancient oak forest.
Located in Aberdeen’s West End, the Gordon Highlanders Museum is dedicated to what Sir Winston Churchill once described as “the finest regiment in the world.” The Gordon Highlanders were active from 1794 to 1994, and the independently run military museum is committed to preserving and sharing the legacy of the historic infantry unit.
Fyvie Castle is a 13th-century castle in Scotland that has been occupied by five different families throughout history. The Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon, and Forbes-Leith families each added to the castle and left their own mark. Most notably, each family added another tower to the building, resulting in the five towers you see today. The castle was originally one of a chain of fortresses throughout medieval Scotland. The oldest part of the castle, dating from the 13th century, houses a great wheel staircase and still stands today.
The interior of Fyvie Castle contains furnishings from the Edwardian period. Collections of arms, armor, paintings, tapestries, and antique furniture can be found throughout the castle. In the 17th-century Morning Room, you can still admire the contemporary paneling and plaster ceilings. Outside is landscaped parkland, an 18th-century walled garden with fruits and vegetables, a restored racquetball court, and walkways near the loch.
The beautifully landscaped Pitmedden Garden in northern Scotland dates back to 1675. The center piece of the property is the Great Garden, a formal walled garden that was originally designed by Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Baronet of Pitmedden. In the 1950s the National Trust of Scotland began recreating the garden using designs from the 17th century. Some of the designs might have been used in the gardens at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh in 1647. One section is a heraldic design based on Sir Alexander's coat of arms. Today Pitmedden Garden has more than 5 miles of box hedging arranged in intricate patterns forming six sections. These different sections of the garden are filled with color during the summer months from approximately 40,000 plants.
Pitmedden Garden sits on a 100 acre estate. Also on the property is the Museum of Farming Life which teaches visitors about historical agriculture. There are also several woodland trails, ponds, an extensive herb garden, a nature hut, and a visitor center.
Boasting conical-roofed turrets, towers, and battlements, this pink-hued Scottish Baronial-style tower house is one of several properties said to have inspired Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle. Constructed in 1626, the property is replete with original features, precious artworks, and historical artifacts including armor and weapons.
A Georgian mansion dating back to 1740, Duff House was designed by renowned Scottish architect William Adam. The country manor is known for its ornate Baroque exterior and estate of landscaped gardens. It was refurbished by the National Galleries of Scotland in the 1990s and is now a destination for its collection of Renaissance and Scottish art.
The House of Dun is a Georgian house built in 18th century that is set among Victorian gardens and woodlands and adjacent to the Montrose Basin Nature Reserve. It is home to the Hutchison and Stirling collections of paintings and furniture, including 30 paintings by prominent Scottish artists. It was originally built for David Erskine, Lord Dun, from 1730 to 1743 and was home to generations of Erskines until 1947. It functioned as a hotel until 1985.
Guided tours of the House of Dun last just over an hour and talk about the construction of the home while pointing out a variety of ornate plasterwork and period equipment, such as a boot bath from the 1800s. The surrounding gardens are a must-see, as part of the landscape has been reconstructed to what it would have looked like in the 1740s.
Haddo House is an impressive stately home in Scotland that was built in the 1730s. The estate was owned by the Gordon family for centuries, and they lived there even before the current house was built. It was designed by William Adam for William Gordon, the 2nd Earl of Aberdeen, and it was refurbished in the 1880s. The house is a blend of Georgian architecture and late Victorian interiors. Throughout the house, visitors can admire antique furniture, portraits, ceramics, and other memorabilia from the Gordon family. Hundreds of years of history can be found inside the walls of this home.
The grounds of Haddo House include a formal terrace garden with geometric rosebuds and a fountain, trees and an herbaceous border, and peaceful hills. The surrounding area of Haddo Country Park, which can be reached by an avenue that is lined with lime trees, has lakes, monuments, woodland walks, and a deer park.