Aberdeen - anyone from there/live there/been there?

[NapQueen]

Going there.

Well, just a tad south of there. Figured itd be nice to head into Aberdeen proper for a walk around. Me, dh, 2dcs (4 & 7).

Any recommendations? Similarly, any must dos along that whole coastline?

I grew up very near Aberdeen and knew it well. My main recommendation is a visit to Dunottar Castle on the coast as it's AMAZING and extremely dramatic!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnottar_Castle

I'm from Aberdeen. Beach is nice (but Stonehaven beach is better - also Dunottar Castle at Stonehaven is a must on that coastline). Also Auntie Betty's ice cream shop at Stonehaven beach.
Aberdeen beach has the 'carnies' - funfair - which is good for kids if they need to be entertained with flashy lights and noisy things 😄 (has a bowling alley, adventure golf as well as rides).

City centre has Maritime Museum if you like museum-y things. Gordon Highlanders museum is pretty good if you like military museum-y things but a bit out of the centre. Art Gallery is closed for renovation just now.

Have a buttery for breakfast 😄

My children are teens now, trying to remember what I did with them at that age... Duthie Park, Hazlehead Park.
Lots of castles up Deeside depending how far out the city you want to go (will you have a car?) - look up National Trust Scotland, usually have things on for children.

Stonehaven is where we are staying so great to see positives about there. Yes we will have a car. Will be self catering so need to find a sizeable supermarket too.

Oh, and you can get dolphin watching boat trips from the harbour. Within walking distance of city centre.

Dolphins! Go down to Aberdeen harbour - you can often see dolphins there.

You can also see seals in the river Don, I used to watch them catching salmon while I was at Uni halls of residence there.

And another vote for Dunottar castle, it's fab.

Stonehaven is lovely. There's a fair sized Morrison's there.

There's a Land Train takes you from Stonehaven Town Centre to Dunottar. Not sure of the running times, but great for small children.

Maritime museum is really interesting with great views over the actual harbour.
And take a walk round “fittie”.

No Morrisons in stonehaven NeonK. Just 3 coops. One is a reasonable size but not huge. Best bet is Asda at portlethen or Sainsbury's at bridge of Dee

Oh yeah, coop. Did it used to be Morrison's? I remember when it was Fine Fare 😂

Scottish schools are now back so the queues at Auntie Betty's might be a bit shorter.
There is also the heated open air pool in stonehaven, it should still be open.

Storybook Glen is not too far from Stonehaven if you want to see some particularly interesting renditions of fairy tale characters. Mine loved it when they were younger, lots of open space to run around. Doonies Farm is nice, you can buy bags of feed for the animals.

Used to be Gateway, then Somerfields, now Coop!

My sister lives in Aberdeen and I was going to suggest Stonehaven. We went there recently. There's a lovely castle.

Duthie Park Winter Gardens! And Fittie/Footdee, Codonas, Mackies in Marischal Sqaure.... a bit further out there is Haddo House, Formartines, Crathes Castle, Fyvie Castle, New Slains Castle + Cruden Bay

Go to the mackies ice cream parlour!! It's the best ice cream ever!!

We regularly endured school trips to the terrifying horror that was Storybook Glen in the eighties! I can't believe that it's still going. I hope it's super creepy and decaying now!

I'm a historian so probably biased but Crathes Castle, Haddo Castle and Craigivar Castle are all wonderful too. I really need to go back 'home' - this thread is making me miss it!

If you walk left along the coast from Stonehaven beach, past the houses you come to a bay with a rocky point. That's the end of the Great Glen fault line, and we used to go fossil hunting there. Didn't actually find any, but it's a lovely beach to explore.

Live in Kent since we retired 6 years ago, but Aberdeen was my home for my first 60 years. The city centre isn't what it once was, but the area around is beautiful. Lots of cafes at the beach, and the towns up Deeside are lovely. One of my earliest memories is of the wee outdoor paddling pool in Stonehaven!

Thanks for all the recommendations!