If you drive North of Edinburgh you will reach Dundee
before long, and if you weren't put off enough by that you could drive another 70
miles up the road to Aberdeen, my home town. Located in the North East of Scotland
Aberdeen had its beginnings in Roman times when it was called Devana. In 1167 Aberdeen
was founded, consisting of Old Aberdeen on the banks of the River Don and Aberdeen
itself on the banks of the River Dee. In its history Aberdeen has been granted
land by Robert the Bruce, burnt down innumerable times, and affected by multiple
epidemics. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Scottish city.
These days Aberdeen has the grand title of "Europe's Oil Capital" oweing to the
concentration of oil companies and related organisations who have interests in the
North Sea fields. Its heliport is the busiest in Europe and there has been a lot
of wealth brought to the city. Consequently house prices are the second highest
in the UK and you don't even want to know how much a pint on a Saturday night can be.
Aberdeen is a great place though, there is plenty happening and it is still reasonably
popular with tourists. I have lived here now for a total of 15 years and it is always
nice to come home again after being at Uni in Glasgow.
There used to be a picture of my house here, but alas
tis no more (the picture, not my house) so here's the next best thing - Provost Skene's
House. Built in 1545, it was purchased by Sir George Skene in 1669.
Down the street towards Rubislaw Church and Queen's
Cross. You will notice that most of these pictures were taken during winter, I have
yet to go out and take some better ones during summer (might have to wait a few years!)
Here is one of the posh old houses in the West End
by the bowling green. Can't say much else about it except that its a nice
winter picture.
This was the house of George Washington Wilson,
a famous Aberdonian who spent his time taking pictures in the late 19th early 20th
century. His work is the most complete record of Aberdeen in the Victorian era.
His house is now a bank.
Here is my secondary school,
Aberdeen Grammar. It
is actually a state school like any other but retains the name to preserve its history.
AGS was founded sometime prior to 1296, but no-one's really sure. The successive list
of Rectors since 1479 is known. The current building was heavily damaged by fire
in 1986, after which the interior was redesigned and rebuilt to modern standards.
This is Rosemount Viaduct leading on to Schoolhill,
near the city centre. The domes from foreground to back are St Mark's Church, His
Majesty's Theatre, and the Cowdray Hall.
My back garden doesn't normally look like this,
it was just after a fairly extreme blizzard in December 2001. Makes a pretty picture.
William Wallace stands proudly outside the Theatre with
his broadsword in hand. After Wallace was hung, drawn and quartered by Longshanks parts
of his body were sent to the four corners of Britain as a warning to other possible
traitors. I think Aberdeen got his left leg on a stake by the river.
The statue recently had to be taken down and repaired as he was getting
weak around the ankles from corrosion. Ironically, they took him to England.
This is Aberdeen's "Granite Mile", Union Street, the
main street for shopping in Aberdeen. The areas surrounding Union Street such as
Schoolhill, Belmont Street and Windmill Brae contain most of the clubs and bars, Union
Street itself is a bit of a wasteland during the night. Union Street saw the largest
street party of the time in 1994 celebrating its 200th anniversary.
Aberdeen has a number of shopping malls, this is the
Bon Accord Centre, named after the city's motto which means "happy to meet, sorry to part,
happy to meet again". Most of the big chain stores moved into the shopping centres during
the mid eighties which hit Union Street quite hard.
The Castlegate is officially the very centre of Aberdeen
(or so I'm led to belive) and it is where the townsfolk congregate on Hogmanay to bring
in the New Year. That is, until Aberdeen council stopped laying on a street party in 2001.
I was in a pub on Belmont Street for "the bells" at the start of 2002. Note the typical Aberdeen
mannies standin haein' a blether. Behind is the bandstand and then the clock tower which is
part of the Town Hall.
This is Marischal College, part of
Aberdeen University
which is one of the oldest Universities in the world. It is the second largest granite
building in the world, and is one of the most famous buildings in Aberdeen
but is soon to be converted into a hotel.
Here is St Nicholas Kirk, standing in a graveyard
just off Union Street. Aberdeen Grammar School used to have its annual carol singing
concert here. The graves are very old, and it was reported a few years ago
that one of them mysteriously disappeared. The site was excavated and nothing was
found...
Another shot of the Town House in Aberdeen, with
one of the fancy touristy signs pointing the way to the Arts Centre and the
beach...brrrr.
