If you know me you’ll know that I’m coming to the end of my PhD, and with that I have some big decisions to make. I went into my PhD believing that I’d be fighting to rise through the ranks of academia, but it’s probably not a surprise to many of you that academia has made me change my mind! I have many thoughts about what I don’t want to do next but I still don’t know what I do want to do. I am of course trawling the internet, chatting to colleagues, seeing a careers advisor and keeping my mind open. But times like these always have me coming back to my three favourite ways to make decisions.
Write a ‘pros and cons’ list
I LOVE writing lists. Lists of things to do, lists of places I want to go, lists of places I’ve been, lists containing my innermost hopes and dreams…lists of pros and cons! For decisions as nebulous as the one I’m making now about which paths I might follow post-PhD, I’m focusing on lists of wants and dreams (life and career-wise) and lists of potential avenues or employers to investigate. As I start honing in on a couple of opportunities though you can bet that I’ll be writing out lists of pros and cons to sift through my thoughts and see the reality in ink. Sometimes I’ve wanted to want something so badly that I didn’t even realise that the cons far outweigh the pros.
Meditate
Now, I’m not super proficient at meditation so I’m not going to proclaim that I can easily clear my mind and sink into a personal pocket of zen, but I can do enough to achieve ‘some’ clarity! I’m sure it’s not just me that finds that when I have big decisions to make my mind gets BUSY. There are so many expectations to deal with (real or imagined!) and sometimes I find they start to smother the little voice that deep down knows what I really want. Meditation just gives me an uninterrupted moment with myself where that little voice has an opportunity to become a bit louder. I’m not saying that I have an epiphany every time I sit cross-legged on my yoga mat but I do always feel a little calmer and a little more centred afterwards.
Flip a coin
Flipping a coin only really works when you have a yes/no or one/the other decision to make. I won’t be using this tactic until I’ve majorly narrowed down my options or maybe even have an offer (or two) on the table. Basically you flip a coin and allow the coin to make your decision. That gut feeling you have when you see how the coin has landed tells you a lot about what you really think and feel about a decision. I like to think I know myself but my gut feeling over a coin toss has really surprised me in the past!
So, these are my top three ways to make a decision. I know they’re not groundbreaking but sometimes I think the simplest solutions are the best. Let me know what you think of them and if you have any others that you find helpful. Good luck if you’re in the middle of making any big decisions yourself.
(I think I’ve visited all if not most of the lighthouses along the Aberdeenshire coastline, but please correct me if I’m wrong. I’m always up for visiting a new lighthouse!)
From North to South here are the five lighthouses of Aberdeenshire.
1. Kinnaird Head
Kinnaird Head has been through many changes. It originally started life as a castle, built for the Fraser family in the 1500s but in 1787 a huge lamp was placed on the roof of the castle making it the first lighthouse built by the Northern Lighthouse Board. By 1824 the famous Robert Stevenson had built a foundation, walls and a classic spiral staircase through the middle of the castle (whilst still preserving the original structure). Now, it’s an excellent museum. Although it’s no longer operational the light mechanism of the lighthouse is still in working order and it looks very much like it did when the last crew left. It’s a pretty remarkable place and even if maritime history isn’t normally your thing, it’s hard not to be wowed by the lives of the lighthouse keepers.
2. Rattray Head
Rattray head is iconic. If you’ve seen an Aberdeenshire lighthouse then it’s probably this one. Rattray head is normally surrounded by the cold North sea, but it can be reached at low tide (although this is something I haven’t been able to do yet). It’s iconic for a good reason as it’s incredibly photogenic, especially when it’s blowing a hooley and the waves are violently battering the lighthouse. Rattray head was built in 1895 and within 100 years in 1982 the last lighthouse keepers were withdrawn and the light became fully automatic.
Be forewarned that it’s not the easiest track to reach it so if your vehicle has low ground clearance or you’re rubbish at reversing you might want to re-think it!
3. Buchan Ness
Buchan Ness is a stunning red and white lighthouse situated in a lovely coastal town called Boddam just South of Peterhead. It was originally built in 1827 by Robert Stevenson and is now fully automated, sounding it’s last foghorn in 1988. The lighthouse keepers cottages are now privately owned and you can book a stay in them if you fancy a quirky holiday. I’ve never been myself but they have great reviews.
4. Girdle Ness
Girdle Ness is my local lighthouse, seeing as it’s located in the city of Aberdeen. It was built in 1833 by, you guessed it, Robert Stevenson after the wrecking of whaling ship that saw 43 out of 45 of it’s crew members die. The light is now fully automated since 1991. It overlooks the stunning Greyhope bay which is a great spot to look out for dolphins and watch the standby and supply vessels come in and out of harbour.
Just in front of the lighthouse is an old fog horn which no longer sounds. It’s known locally as the ‘Torry coo that doesn’t moo’ (Torry being the part of the city the lighthouse backs onto).
5. Todhead
I guess the first and most important thing to say about Todhead lighthouse is that it is now a private residence so it’s important to respect that. There is no access up the lighthouse, although you can walk around it and soak in the beautiful scenery along the coastline. There’s also a facebook page run by the current owners that’s kept fairly up to date. A light first shone through Todhead in 1897, it was automated in 1988 and then fully decommissioned in 2007.
For further information, particularly about how the lighthouses fared in the war, the Northern Lighthouse Board has a great website.
I have a complicated relationship with inspirational quotes and I’ve seen a few recently that have caused me a deep sigh! Permit me a few minutes of your time to explain, using four inspirational messages, why I embrace negative vibes!
(Disclaimer: Take anything I’ve written with a pinch of salt. I have literally zero mental health credentials so this is entirely an opinion piece!)
Positive Vibes Only
For me, ‘positive vibes only’ is the biggest offender! It is, for me, the greatest representation of toxic positivity that I can think of. Toxic positivity describes any inspirational quote or message that has the capacity to be false, dismissive, alienating or undermining. Quotes like this can create feelings of guilt and shame because quite simply they’re disconnected from the reality of experiencing life as a complex human being. You cannot possibly be positive ALL the time and if your social group is only available for ‘good vibes’ then maybe you need to ask yourself if they’re good friends or just fair-weather friends. Good friends are often there to support or hold space for you when you’re experiencing ‘negative vibes only’!
When I was a teenager, I (in short) suffered with depression. I was in a whole self-destructive spiral that meant I often lashed out at the people closest to me and I effectively cut my best friend Hannah out of my life. There was no way that Hannah could get close enough to me at that time to support me, but she waited in the wings until I started to recover. She’s still one of my closest friends and we’ve now known each other for about 20 years. I will forever be grateful that she didn’t just abandon me because of my negative vibes (and trust me, they were NEGATIVE)! Now, I’m not saying you need to go through something so drastic to figure out who your friends are, and I’m also not saying that you shouldn’t have boundaries within your friendships. Finding that balance between giving space to negative vibes, encouraging positivity or maybe taking a step back is a tricky one that you have to learn to navigate all by yourself!
Allowing yourself 5 minutes to be upset
This is exactly the Instagram advice that tipped me over the edge and led me to write this! This particular Instagram post stated that you should give yourself 5 minutes to feel your negative emotions if things in your life go wrong, but no more. Set yourself a timer, have a cry, then simply acknowledge that you can’t change the way things are and just stop feeling those feelings. Simple! Right?!
Of course, there are absolutely moments in your life where you can just shake something off and move on. There can be great peace in sometimes accepting that there are things that you cannot change. BUT, (and it’s a big but!) I also firmly believe that it can be incredibly important to feel whatever you need to feel and for however long you need to feel it for. Whatever you’re feeling is valid and you need to work through that. No one should be dictating to you how long you should feel it for…especially if that involves setting a literal timer!
A few years ago I developed a chronic illness and I did not give myself time to process that. Getting ME/CFS was a life changing event and to some extent forcing myself to think positively was a protective measure. But, I bottled up so many feelings. I was often called brave and folk would tell me how well I was handling everything, and don’t get me wrong, it is nice to hear (and of course, it is well meant). But, I think it also made me feel like I had to keep presenting a positive front and it stopped me being honest about how I really felt (even to myself). To cut a long story short about 4 years after I was diagnosed I was sat in therapy realising how much I needed to grieve because of what had happened. Maybe I’m being facetious because I’m sure that this advice wasn’t necessarily intended to help you brush off the big things in life, but I think it’s easy when you’re at your most vulnerable to be gaslit by these seemingly innocuous pieces of advice.
Positive thoughts create positive results
I’m going to keep this short but essentially, this one is important to me because I think it can be weaponised. When I developed ME/CFS I was suddenly introduced to this faction of people who would essentially say that I was sick because I was thinking too negatively. Basically, I would get better if I thought more positively. I cannot express just how damaging this is. It places the blame on the person who is suffering and of course it’s not just a phrase reserved for those who are ill. Positive thinking can be an awesome tool, but it cannot cure you or solve all your problems.
You only fail if you quit
Quitting does not necessarily mean that you have failed. Sometimes quitting is the hardest and bravest thing that you can do. When I quit the merchant navy I felt like such a failure. That crushing feeling of defeat contributed to a breakdown that saw me literally run away to the other side of the world to hide in the desert and then later, on a small pacific island (which is perhaps a story for another day). I was terrified, full of doubt and totally confused for about 6 months afterwards, but ultimately quitting was one of the best decisions I ever made. Sometimes quitting is the right choice and sometimes quitting is the wrong choice, that’s for you to decide! Either way you are not necessarily a failure.
Now, ‘positive thoughts create positive results’ and ‘you can only fail if you quit’ are the kind of Pinterest style inspirational quotes that might really serve a purpose at particular times in your life. They might really speak to you and help to move you forward, and that’s okay. In fact, that’s more than okay, that’s great! You might think that that’s a little at odds with everything I’ve just written but what I’m trying to get across is just to approach these sayings and quotes with caution. How do they make you feel and how do they serve you? Please don’t ever feel trapped by them.
I’ve been to at least nine of the recumbent stone circles in Aberdeenshire and for me there are definitely three stand out favourites. These might not be the ‘cleanest’ examples of recumbent circles but they’re all circles that feel special to me.
Just so we’re all on the same page, a recumbent stone circle has a large stone lying on it’s side (the recumbent) which has two large standing stones either side of it (the flankers or flanking stones). Smaller stones radiate out from the recumbent and the flankers to form a circle. Recumbent stone circles are unique to Aberdeenshire in Scotland, and Cork and Kerry in the South-West of Ireland. There are thought to be about 70 recumbent stone circles in Aberdeenshire so I have a fair few more to visit! It’s not really known why they exist, but it has been hypothesised that they were part of rituals related to the moon. To be fair they were constructed in the Neolithic / bronze age period around 4500 years ago when written history wasn’t really a big thing!
So, in no particular order, my favourite stone circles…so far!
Binghill
I feel like this wouldn’t be on many people’s top three, but for me it was all about the journey and the atmosphere. There aren’t really any published directions or signs to Binghill stone circle and as we didn’t know which way to come from or where to park, we obviously picked the most difficult route! We ended up asking a really lovely chap who was busy renovating a Victorian house, he told us all about the trees in the area, the history and of course he told us which way to go to get to the circle. Even armed with that information it was a bit of a scramble to get there. We went in the middle of Autumn so when we arrived the remaining stones were cushioned in red and orange leaf litter. It was unbelievably pretty. This is only a very small recumbent stone circle, about 11m in diameter. It’s thought that there were once ten stones, but only seven remain. Four, including the flankers, have fallen and several are no longer in their original place. It’s a bit of a mess, but maybe because of the disruption, Binghill is the perfect place to sit and think about just how much time has passed since the stones were originally placed and try to get your head around how much has happened since. If you want to see a clean and classic example of a recumbent stone circle then this is not it, but if you want somewhere to contemplate your own existence then I cannot recommend Binghill stone circle enough!
I’ve actually written about Binghill in another blog about all the castles and megalithic sites between Aberdeen and Balmoral. If you’re interested you’ll find that blog here.
Loanhead of Daviot
This stone circle has so much going on and that’s why I love it. Firstly, there’s a large recumbent stone circle spanning about 20 metres. The recumbent stone has actually been split into two through freeze / thawing action, which is just remarkable, and there are eight standing stones as well as two large flankers. Those eight stones are graded in height and a couple of them have cup-marks on their surfaces, which are a little tricky to locate at first. What were these for and did this mean that those stones were once lying flat and used for something else? Who knows?! In the centre of the circle is a cairn, which makes this circle really special. Beneath this cairn, charcoal, pottery, human bone fragments (both child and adult), flints and traces of burning have been found. All of this suggests that the circle was used a long time after it’s original purpose faded into pre-history.
Secondly, directly next to this large recumbent circle is another circular structure which marks the remains of a stone enclosure with two entrances. This marks a bronze age cremation cemetery. An excavation in the 1930s revealed the remains of a 40 year old bronze age man and it was considered unusual that he was left there intact whilst other bodies were burned in the same area. It’s thought that the recumbent circle was an area used by a large community for many years, but that the smaller bronze age area was used by one or a few families over a much shorter period of time. Whatever brought later peoples to the area, they clearly venerated the circle and that to me is so exciting and kind of magical.
Loudon Wood
Loudon wood circle, also known as Pitfour stone circle, is a little bit illusive…or at least sounds like it should be from it’s google reviews. We actually found it very easily with the help of a map and some instructions from http://leshamilton.co.uk/megaliths/loudenwood.htm. Even though we took a fairly direct route to it, it still involved veering off the obvious paths and into the dark, tightly packed conifers to make our way slowly to the clearing that holds the stone circle. It was a windy day, full of creaking trees and chirruping birds, but as soon as we reached the circle everything seemed to fall silent. I guess that’s hardly surprising, but there was a peace to the area that made it feel kind of enchanted. The circle isn’t complete, but there’s a large recumbent stone lying between two flankers (one of which is no longer standing) and four other stones that make up a large circle about 18m in diameter. According to Canmore it is estimated that it probably took around 40 adults to move the recumbent into place. It might not be well looked after, complete or easy for everyone to find, but this circle undoubtedly has atmosphere. I didn’t want to leave.
So, these are my favourites based on feelings and emotion, but if you’re looking for a nice, clean, classic example of a recumbent stone circle then I would suggest either Tomnaverie or East Aquhorthies. …happy megalith hunting!
I’ve been struggling to write a bit recently and I’m a bit behind on my posts, but here’s one now. …just in time for the end of summer!
It’s perhaps an unpopular opinion, but summer is my least favourite season. So where my blog ‘a guide to thriving in winter’ talked about ways you can, well, thrive in winter, this blog is about how I survive summer. Although struggle through it might be a more accurate thing to say. I wanted to include hints and tips in case you struggle with it too, but actually I’m not sure I have that many! If you’re the polar opposite of me and LOVE summer then you won’t need any tips, but you might want to read on to hear about the other side.
Everywhere is busy
For a start, summer is so much busier. People decide they want to be out and about more, adults take breaks and kids get a long summer holiday. So, understandably lots of the most well-known ‘idyllic’ countryside spots and coolest attractions are crawling with people. I dislike places with lots of people if you hadn’t gathered that already…maybe that’s your vibe, but it certainly isn’t mine. This means I have to get more creative with where I go (which isn’t actually a bad thing) and I save all the popular tourist sites for the depths of winter. If you hate crowds, like I do I suggest giving that tactic a try. For example, I’ve visited Dunnottar castle in the depths of winter and the height of summer. In winter I was the only one there for at least half an hour. It felt so magical and atmospheric. In summer, I struggled to find anywhere to park. Cars were haphazardly left on the verges about a mile up the road and once we finally made it to castle there were people everywhere. I’m sure they were having a delightful day, but, to me, the place lost it’s charm in that moment.
Wasps
I hate wasps! I know they have great value in terms of biodiversity and pollination, I know that they’re unlikely to sting you if you just stay out of their way and don’t flap about when they’re near, I know that the stings don’t hurt that much, but I still hate them. I have a visceral, almost uncontrollable fear. When they’re around I feel the panic rising, I have to really focus on staying where I am and concentrating on the task I’m performing or the conversation I’m having. Sometimes it gets all a bit much and I have to do a little run! It’s embarrassing, but I just can’t help it. What makes it worse sometimes is how flippant folk can be about it. I guess it’s easy to shrug off a fear that you don’t understand, but it definitely just heightens my feelings in the moment. Just a few soothing placations and a but of support is all I need. To make things a little easier for myself I stop wearing perfume, I wear less hairspray, I don’t wear bright colours and I’m careful about where and when I sit outside. It probably all sounds like a bit much, but they’re the little things that help get me through.
Over-heating
I’m pale and freckly, I burn and I over-heat easily. I’m sensitive to summer! When I get hot, I get anxious and stressed (so I become even more afraid of wasps – fabulous). I just feel trapped by the heat…I mean, you’ve all been too hot, you get it! Ironically, I live in the UK, currently Scotland, but even a Scottish summer can be a bit toasty for me. Anyway, I hate getting to and starting work feeling flustered and sweaty. I also find that I have to treat my ME more carefully in the warmer months. The heat and humidity suck my energy and increase my likelihood of relapse. I find over summer I teeter on the edge of getting ill a lot more, which means I have to rest more and say no more often. If I’m honest though I think I’m probably not particularly set up for summer. I don’t make it easy on myself. I like wearing a lot of black, I don’t own a lot of summer clothes, I like wearing boots and I don’t like showing a lot of skin. It’s a recipe for disaster! I don’t have many tips to get through overheating other than; wear cycling shorts under skirts to avoid the chub rub, get to places early so that you can stand outside and cool down before you have to go inside, always have water with you and wear sunscreen!
People talking about the weather
This is my last point and I’ll keep it very short. As I mentioned in my ‘thriving in winter blog’, it annoys me enormously when visiting a place in winter how much people say “this would look nice in summer”. There’s a comment that annoys me even more in summer…I hate it when it rains or we have a grey day and folk say “well that’s our summer over then”. The eyeroll I think about performing in that moment is truly epic.
Now, before I finish, I do enjoy some aspects of summer. I don’t spend every day weeping and wishing for the next season to begin. I love chilling on a beach enjoying a cider, I love that it gets a little warmer for sea swimming, I love picnics and barbeques, I love the lighter and longer evenings and I love all the seasonal fruit. I’m not a total fun sponge! I promise. I am looking forward to autumn though…those crisp mornings and crunchy leaves. Perfect.
Hmm, so I’m not going to lie, I’ve been feeling a bit uninspired the last few months and I was really struggling to think about what I was going to write about for April. (I promised myself that I was going to write a blog a month). Then I remembered just how many parks Aberdeen has and thought I’d give you a whistle stop tour of a few of them until my inspiration comes back.
Johnson Park
Well, let’s start with Johnston Park (Johnston Gardens). I’ve only been to this small park once as it’s a fair walk from where I live, but it’s really pretty. If I lived near here though I’d definitely be popping into this park all the time. It’s packed with greenery layered above a large pond area. It feels quite private, and in some ways a little secret. There’s also a bright blue bridge which is perfect for photography if you’re into that. It’s also a great area for spotting kingfishers! In terms of history, these gardens used to be part of the Johnston House estate, but it was gifted to the city in the mid-30s. I’m certainly glad that we have public access now.
Victoria Park
Victoria park, named after Queen Victoria, is one of my favourite parks to go to. I don’t do it very often, but I love going to grab a coffee (and maybe a cinnamon bun) from Cult of Coffee and then heading to the park to enjoy it. There’s one specific bench that is literally the perfect suntrap, I won’t divulge which one…too many people seem to know about it already! This was Aberdeen’s first public park, and it was created in 1871. I can’t imagine a city without a park, but maybe as Aberdeen was smaller and there was more green space in general it wasn’t quite so necessary until that point. It was however created out of ‘a desire to improve the urban and industrial environment’, so maybe it was more necessary than I’m imagining. There’s a path around the whole park, which seems good for runners, there’s a small rose garden, an area for chess or drafts (I can’t remember) and a few other cute nooks and crannies. The main feature though is a huge granite fountain which is apparently made from 14 different types of granite quarried in Aberdeenshire and donated by granite polishers. That’s a lot of granite!
Westburn Park
Westburn park is literally next door to Victoria park. It’s just a busy road that separates them. For a long time I though that historically it was the same park but it had just been divided over time by a city that needed more roads! But, actually, Westburn park was once belonged by Westburn House, a mansion built in the mid-1800s. The house became a tea house in 1901, but unfortunately, it’s now a ruin. It’s such a shame as it would make the cutest café. I have to say it’s not my favourite park, but if I’m honest I’m not sure it’s meant for me. It seems like the perfect place to take your dog or your children, and I have neither. It even has a children’s cycling proficiency track. There’s also an open section of water called the Gilcomston Burn running through the park. It’s unsatisfyingly asymmetrical!
Seaton Park
Seaton park is another one of my favourites and is definitely the park I visit the most. The park is huge and feels wild, there’s even a wetland area. There are parts of the park that make me feel like I’m not in the city at all and I love that. It’s been a great comfort during the pandemic to grab a coffee from Shelter or Kilau, walk past the St Machar’s Cathedral and down to the River Don. The park is full of wildlife; lots of different birds, red squirrel and otter. Sometimes when I want a slightly longer walk I wander east to the little village by the ‘Brig O Balgownie’ and dream about living here or west to the Wallace tower. It’s such a cool place. When I was writing this I also found out about Mr Therm! Mr Therm is a former steam engine which used to transport coal to the harbour, but it’s now in the children’s play area. I’ve never noticed it before because I don’t pay much attention to the playground. But, that sounds pretty awesome to me!
Duthie Park
This is another park I’ve only been to once. I was meant to go again before I wrote this, but I had an ME flare up and I didn’t make it. It’s a big park set back from the River Dee but it’s the Winter Gardens that I really fell in love with. They are currently closed to the public due to COVID, but once they’re open again I really recommend a visit. The park has a tonne of Victorian features like boating ponds, bandstands and fountains. I’ve driven passed lots of times and seen folk doing group exercise. It looks like a really nice spot for that.
Hazelhead Park
Hazelhead is huge. It’s also quite far out so I’ve only been there once. It’s not my favourite, but to be fair I wasn’t in the best mood when I was there, and it was winter. I should probably visit again! I particularly need to go and see the rose gardens when they’re actually in bloom. They’re really quite extensive. I actually went because I wanted to visit the memorial to the Piper Alpha incident (I’ll let you google that). It’s a really cool monument. I also stumbled across another monument to the Aberdeen crematorium scandal. I’ll let you google that too if you’re interested, I learned something really quite shocking.
In addition to the park there’s also an area of woodland nearby. In fact, there are two areas of woodland which kind of merge into one (Den woods and Anderson woods). They also join up with Countesswells woods to make the largest woods in Aberdeen. If you live nearby or you have a car, I think this is the perfect quick escape from the city.
There are of course plenty more parks in Aberdeen, but these are the ones I’ve visited. Green space is so important, and I think it’s become more important since the pandemic…so, get out there and enjoy it.
This blog took way longer than I imagined! In October, whilst I was looking at the driving route to Loch Muick (I want to walk around it at some point) on my trusty OS map I noticed just how many tiny little markers there were along the roads that indicated ‘places of interest’. I decided it would be a great idea to visit every one of those, probably underappreciated, sites all the way from Aberdeen to Balmoral. I thought that we (my partner and I) would be able to knock it out in a day. 12 places of interest, 1 day, blog ready in time for my November post. Fool! That was a bit optimistic, to put it lightly, especially with that quickly fading Autumn light. A lot of the sites were difficult to find and once we’d taken the time to locate them, we wanted to linger and enjoy them rather than hurry off. I’m glad we didn’t rush it.
So, with a few months delay I’m going to tell you a tiny bit about those sites! Most of them have tricky parking, as in you just need to find somewhere as safe as possible along the side of the road and just go for. I also think it helps having an OS map, whether that’s on your phone or a physical copy, because most of them are literally just dots on the landscape with no signage. I think that’s part of the fun though. Just seeing something marked on a map and exploring until you find it.
1. Binghill Stone Circle.
This was the first stop for us, and it was a great way to start. To find it we pulled over and parked out of the way on the side of the road near Milltimber woods on Contlaw Road, and then walked through some gates with ‘private property’ signs and asked for some help in locating the circle. We spoke to a super helpful chap who owned the land and he said he thought it was easier to park and access the circle from Binghill Road…something I’d definitely suggest trying if you want to check out this site. In terms of directions once you’re off the road all I can really say is walk uphill into the woods and search around the area marked as “Recumbent Stone Circle” on Google maps. You really just have to follow your gut instinct and have an explore.
Once you get there only 3 of the stones are still standing, including the recumbent, although some of the smaller kerb stones are also in their original position. By ‘recumbent’ I mean that it is, as the name suggests, lying down…on purpose! The recumbent is flanked by two tall stones and then the other stones follow around in a circle, graded in height. Apparently, these recumbent stone circles are unique to Aberdeenshire, in Scotland and Cork and Kerry, in Ireland. They’re not quite sure what these recumbent stone circles were used for, but they think they could have been used for ritual purposes related to the moon. By ‘they’, I guess I mean historians! This stone circle is dated as Neolithic/Bronze Age, so around 3000BC. It’s hard to fathom anything that long ago!
History aside, this place just feels magical. We sat here for quite a while just chatting about the past, wondering what things might have been like, how the land might have lain, where people could have lived, what relationships were like…just pure conjecture and wild imagining!
2. Park House Symbol Stone.
Hmm, this is an odd one. To start with, I still have no idea where you should park if you want to see this. I struggled to understand the access to the area (coming from England, I still sometimes struggle to understand access rights and I get scared). We ended up parking precariously off the side of the road and scrambling up a bank onto the Deeside Way, and then walking onto the Park House Estate. There must be better ways of doing this!
Anyway, at Park house is a Pictish symbol stone which is thought to be early Middle Ages (5th to 10th century AD). The symbol stone is actually sat on top of a replica (an apparently inaccurate replica). This shows what it ‘should’ have looked like in its heyday with a mirror and a double-sided comb, a notched flower, a crescent and a V-rod. I have no idea what that all means!
3. Gibbet Stone – Mill of Dess.
This large mill stone shaped stone is easy to see from the road, but I would have had a hard time guessing what it was before reading about it. For parking you just have to find some vaguely okay space on the side of the road to stop! The same goes for most of these sites. This gibbet stone is thought to be the place into which a gibbet tree was inserted. What’s a gibbet stone, gibbet tree or indeed gibbet I hear you ask? Well, there’s no nice way to put it, a gibbet is something you hang somebody from/in. Whether that’s as a punishment (i.e. displayed in a cage but not left to die), directly as a method of execution (hanging by the neck or starvation in said cage) or as a warning (by leaving or placing a body there until it fell down – you can imagine what a state that would’ve been). So, a gibbet stone was what you stuck or fixed the gibbet tree/gibbet into. Gibbets or gibbet trees didn’t always require a stone, but it was thought that this particular gibbet stone was placed and used on the nearby Gallows Hillock.
I’m a fan of dark history so I was looking forward to seeing this one!
4. Aboyne Stone Circle.
This was one of the sites we spent the most time trying to locate, and then once we found it we wondered why it ever took so long! Parking in Aboyne is easy as it actually has carparks and safe places to pull over. Wherever you stop in Aboyne (it isn’t big), the stone circle is easily reached after walking past one of the local cemeteries (possibly belonging to St Margaret’s) and up the main path through the woods. On google maps the street is called ‘Aboyne Stone Circle’ and I think there is a sign directing you vaguely the right way, so it’s not totally hidden. At some point there’s a track that trails off left (North West) into the woods and the stone circle sits not far away from a field. If you’ve reached a farm gate on the main path then you’ve gone a bit too far, but head left (West) into the woods from that point and you should be alright. I appreciate it’s a fairly poor description, but it’s better than what we had!
The circle, once you find it, is very, very small at about 2.5 metres wide. This alone makes it pretty interesting. Apparently one of the stones, although firmly situated, might not be in it’s original place. My incredibly untrained eye couldn’t tell you which one though! The circle is dated somewhere in the Bronze Age (2200 BC – 800 BC) and the thoughts are that it could be a four poster stone circle. I’ve just learned that means there are four (or sometimes more) upright stones in an irregular quadrilateral. The circle is either this or a transition from a four poster circle to something else!
5. “Stone”!
So, this one outfoxed us for far too long! On the map it’s just a black dot that has ‘stone’ written next to it and I was therefore convinced it must be a standing stone. It’s marked as being right on the side of the road, so every time we drove through the area I’d peer intensely out of the window looking for it, but I never caught sight of it. Anyway, it came time to stop and look for it, so we stopped at the pull in next to the big ‘YOU ARE NOW IN THE HIGHLANDS’ sign. We walked up and down the road several times, scrubbed about in the bushes and even asked a lady coming out of her house, but we couldn’t find it. She said that her mother was interested in local history and had never mentioned a standing stone nearby. Eventually, it dawned on me that the ‘YOU ARE NOW IN THE HIGHLANDS’ sign is the stone marked on the map!
6. Loch Kinord Crannog, Castle and Castle.
So, this is a little off the direct Aberdeen to Balmoral road but I counted it as part of my route because I can do what I want! Plus, it’s a nice walk around Loch Kinord. There are 3 historical things of note there. Firstly, the crannog. A crannog is a manmade island constructed from wood (and presumably other bits) and this one was built around 2500 years ago. There would have once been a hut on top of the island but now it’s just the island itself, and you would 100% think it was natural. Secondly, is Kinord Castle. Okay, there’s no castle there anymore, just another island…but, you can imagine! Kinord Castle was burned down in the 1600s but as far as I know it had stood for about 600 years up to that point! Thirdly, and finally, is the Kinord Cross. Kinord Cross is a kite-shaped pink granite stone with an elaborate cross carved into it. This Christian monument was made sometime in the 9th century. It was moved to Aboyne Castle in the 19th century and then finally moved back to the loch in the mid-1900s.
I can’t imagine any of these sites will change your life but, as I say, it’s a nice walk around Loch Kinord.
7. Tullich Church and Souterrain.
Tullich Church is a great place to park for the souterrain, and it’s worth checking out too. This is a ruined medieval church (built on the site of an even older church) and it has a collection of very cool Christian and Pictish stones held safely behind glass. There’s a great information board all about the stones so I’ll let that do the talking if you decide to visit.
We actually visited for the souterrain though (not the church) and found it on our last trip along this route. I kept putting it off because there were always cows in the field and I’m super wary (read scared) of cows! Luckily on the last visit there were no cows around and we strode confidently across the field to a rocky/scrubby area and located the souterrain. Unfortunately, you can no longer get inside but we shone torches into the cavities and imagined what life was like around 0 AD when this was thought to date back to! The souterrain is an underground space, but it’s not really known what they were used for. Storage for grains? A place to hide? Or a bit of both? What do you think?
If you want to visit a really cool souterrain that you can crawl inside, I definitely recommend the Culsh earth house near Tarland.
8. Abergain Castle
I wasn’t expecting much from this ruined castle but this was definitely a hidden gem! We pulled off the ‘main’ road and parked on the side of a farm access road (out of the way of farm traffic) and then walked across some sheep fields and up into the woods. Abergairn is what remains of a small tower house built in the early 1600s and because of its small stature it was thought to be a hunting lodge. It’s a stunning area. We went whilst the Autumn colours were at their peak, which definitely made everything look beautiful, but there was a stillness and peace there that made you want to linger for as long as possible.
9. St Manir’s Standing Stone.
To visit this stone there’s a super handy forestry commission carpark just down the road. From the parking area you just need to hop over a stream and a fence and then you’re at the standing stone. A very mini adventure! As well as the stone this is also apparently the site of a burial ground and a church but little/no evidence of that remains to someone like me (i.e. not an archaeologist). Apparently, the 6th century chapel that used to be situated here used this standing stone as a reading desk and much later, unbaptised children were buried here up until the 19th century.
In the comments section of a random Aberdeenshire history post I also read that from this standing stone you can see the hill on which the last Deeside witch was burned. I have no evidence to back this up, but I choose to believe it! That’s my ethos for many a historical tale!
10. Abergeldie Castle.
Abergeldie Castle is a 16th century tower house which prompted me to enter the lottery more regularly. I spent the whole time walking around this area deciding which bit I’d turn into an Airbnb or a granny flat for my parents, what I’d plant where, where I’d put the barbeque, what I’d use the pit prison for etc… (Probably wine to be fair). Not long after we got back from our day trip I asked Twitter whether anybody knew the status of this house. There were lots of incredibly old private signs that made it seem like it probably wasn’t private anymore, all gates were open, no lights were on, nobody was around and everything looked very unloved. But, on the other hand, we felt like we were trespassing, there were enough possessions (like work jackets and spades) still around that we felt somebody could have lived there recently or perhaps be thinking about renovating and it definitely had been very loved at some point. It was all a bit mysterious. Anyway, it turns out that the man that had lived there had moved into an old people’s home many years prior and had recently passed away. Which is all a bit sad. It is a really beautiful spot and whoever gets to live there next is incredibly lucky…and wealthy!
To get to this castle we parked by the red phone booth/book swap just down the road, which is worth stopping at anyway.
11. Scurriestone.
This is an easy one to get to. We just parked at a little pull in and then walked into the field where the stone stands. Apparently, it’s thought to mark the spot where “the road diverged to the fords of the Dee and the Muick”, but that’s a little tricky to imagine now. It’s just listed as prehistoric which spans a large wedge of time…basically, it’s very old.
12. Knock Castle.
I think this is now amongst my favourite castles in Aberdeenshire. Knock sits on top of a hill surrounded by larches and it unquestionably pretty.
Knock is a 16th century tower house, which is full of tragedy. It was owned by the Gordons who had beef with a neighbouring clan, the Forbes. One of the Gordon’s, Henry, was killed by the Forbes clan so the castle went to Gordon’s son, Alexander. At some point Alexander’s son secretly married a Forbes girl, which as you can imagine did not go down well. The father of this girl had Alexander and 7 of his brothers killed whilst they were digging peat. I think there’s some chat about how they were armed and digging peat on Forbes land at the time (so not wholly innocent) but, after this long it’s probably hard to know the ins and outs of it. Anyway, the brothers (including Alexander) were then beheaded and their heads were spiked on top of their spades. Charming! On hearing this news Alexander fell to his death down the Knock Castle stairs and apparently his miserable and tormented ghost still haunts the ruins. The Forbes did not get away with this scot free however, and the head of the Forbes clan was executed by the law, his lands were also taken away and given to Abergeldie.
To get to Knock Castle we parked off the road at a quiet junction and just walked up to it, but I saw that other people had driven much closer to the castle and just parked in the middle of the road! It’s another one of those places where you just have to find a spot that looks acceptable and go for it!
I think if I can conclude anything from this series of excursions between Aberdeen and Balmoral it’s that this county is just packed with history. You can barely move without tripping over some ancient site and because of that I imagine there’s something for everyone. Unfortunately, however, there’s often not a lot of easily available information on most of these places and you end up trawling random sites with numerous search terms just to find a golden nugget of information. But, maybe that’s part of the fun, I guess not everything should be easy and I don’t necessarily think you need to know exactly what you’re looking at to enjoy it. Two of the best websites in terms of standing stones, circles and souterrains were https://www.megalithic.co.uk/ and https://www.canmore.org.uk/ if you’re ever interested in finding out about anything in your area.
I love winter! If you know me, or you’ve read any of my blogs before, then you’re probably already aware that I struggle in summer but truly enjoy winter. Most of the people I know have that flipped around and are summer lovers, winter sceptics! So, as my planned blog for December is taking longer than I expected I thought why not push that back and write about why I thrive in winter, and perhaps how you can too. If you live in the North North, like the Arctic circle, you might need more than I’m suggesting here, but I think this is appropriate for the latitude I dwell on!
Firstly, I love being cosy and hunkering down and you can only really do that if it’s cold outside. I even generally keep my heating low because I’d rather wrap myself up in fleecy PJs, jumpers and my dressing gown, which is 5 sizes too big for me than feel stuffy in an over-heated apartment. If I’m in my flat, I’m wearing my dressing gown. If I’m in a zoom meeting it’s probably wrapped around my waist, if I’ve opened the door to you and I look ‘put together’ my dressing gown has been hastily whipped off just before and it goes straight back on after the door is shut. I whole heartedly suggest you get yourself a gown that you want to wear like a second skin, it is a true winter joy!
I also have multiple blankets and even crocheted a poncho-style blanket I can wear whilst I’m mooching about my apartment. When I lived in Aberystwyth, I had an attic flat by the sea, with no heating and no shower (it did have a bathtub). It was extremely cold…as in, I could see my breath indoors sometimes! I did have an electric heater but as we all know these are expensive to run and if I’m honest it only really took the edge off the cold. The size of the immersion heater meant I couldn’t fill the bath up all the way with hot water so I would sit in a warm puddle of water up to my hips and wash my hair with a jug, shivering the whole time! It’s crazy to think I pay only £50 more in Aberdeen for double the space, an extra bedroom, heating, and a bath/shower. I did love my tiny, cold, Welsh seaside flat though and still think of it very fondly! Anyway, the point of that little side-story was that blankets were one of my saviours (this was in the days before my dressing gown)! I literally wore one like a cape at all the times, which is where the idea for a poncho blanket came from…it just took a few years to come to fruition! Having so many blankets also means that I can sleep with my window open throughout most of winter and just bury myself under a nest of downy and woolly layers. I kind of remind myself of a rodent under all it’s bedding with just it’s nose sticking out for air. I love the fresh air.
On the same cosiness theme as fleecy layers and blankets are hot water bottles. I genuinely get a bit excited the first time I get to use it at the beginning of winter/end of autumn. I felted myself a hot water bottle cover during my winter stint living on the Isle of Islay, which makes it feel even more special. I used a tonne of different colours to remind me of all the rainbows I saw on the island because I’d never seen so many, so regularly. It’s getting a bit thin and worn now after so many years of use, but it gives me emotional warm and fuzzies as well as literally pumping out heat! It’s attached to me throughout most of winter. I tuck it into the waistband of my dressing gown or under my arm whilst I wander about my flat and it sits under my feet whilst I’m working from home. It’s even left the house with me a couple of times! I used to tuck it under my jumper whilst I sat on the quadbike mowing the reeds on Islay and I’ve taken it to work with me at the university on the weekend. (They shut the heating off on the weekend in winter and it gets a bit chilly in the office). Anyway, get a hot water bottle. You will not regret it!
As well as warm layers, I also love a bit of warm light, like fairy lights and lamps. I light candles infinitely more in the colder, darker months and as a result my flat always smells awesome. For me, candles really make a difference and they don’t have to be expensive. They make ‘normal’ things like taking a bath and reading a book more special too. Candles are great for the evenings but something that has made a REAL difference to me, especially in the morning, is having a sunrise/sunset alarm clock. I struggle to get out of bed at the best of times, but I REALLY struggle to get up when it’s dark outside. Mid-winter in Aberdeen the sun rises at 0845 and sets at 1530 so unless I’m having an ultimate lie in, it’s dark when I get up throughout winter. Having an artificial sunrise on a dark morning has been life changing! I’m still grumpy and I still don’t like crawling out of my blanket nest, but I’m summer level grumpy not tickling a sleeping dragon level grumpy (if you get the HP reference there, I salute you!). There are lots of different makes and models out there and I couldn’t recommend getting one more.
Talking of light – Vitamin D. Our bodies synthesise vitamin D when the sunlight hits our skin throughout the summer months. (We can also get it from eating things like oily fish, meat, cheese and mushrooms). In the UK we can’t synthesise vitamin D in the winter because there isn’t enough UVB radiation in sunlight. So, no matter how many walks you go at midday between October and March you’re not going to be getting any vitamin D out of it. Not to mention you’re probably not going to have much skin exposed in those months anyway. The idea is that we make all our vitamin D in summer and that we make enough to see us through winter. BUT the reality for many of us is that we now have inside jobs and probably don’t spend 20 mins outside in the sun between 11am and 3pm every day….so we don’t make enough vitamin D in summer to tide us over anymore. That means that many of us are low in vitamin D and this can cause things like fatigue, low mood, hair loss, muscle pains and frequent infections: Vitamin D is super important for healthy bones, teeth and muscles. Because of that it’s now advised that we supplement with about 10µg of vitamin D per day throughout those darker months. (Of course, if you have any concerns or any extra health considerations you should see your doctor before you go down to Boots). Whilst we’re talking about this, I think it’s also very important to note that folk with darker skin need to get more sun than us pale folk to make the same amount of vitamin D. So, if you have dark skin you are more likely to have low vitamin D levels throughout the whole year (especially in places like the UK). Also, if you’re a modest dresser then you may not have enough exposed skin to be making enough vitamin D even in summer. Something to think about. It’s always hard to tell if something like a supplement makes a difference or not, but I feel like it works for me!
Despite the fact you’re not getting any vitamin D out of it I still think it’s crazy important to get out and about throughout winter so you don’t get cabin fever. In fact, winter is my favourite time to explore lots of places. Mostly, because it’s quiet but also because I’m a huge fan of open, desolate and bleak landscapes! I think they have a huge amount of atmosphere. I mentioned in one of my other blogs about how I went to Dunnottar castle in Stonehaven in both winter and summer and how different those two experiences were, but the same thing can be said for most places. There’s so much beauty in a winter landscape but, I think, in general, maybe you have to look a little harder to see it. More often than not when I’m out and about with someone in winter I hear them say at some point…”I bet this is lovely in summer”. I’ve had to train myself to reply with something like “hmm, yeah” or “I bet” but really, inside, I’m shouting “IT’S LOVELY RIGHT NOW”. I’ve never heard someone in summer say, “I bet this looks lovely in winter”. Maybe I should start. I get it though, I really do. Summer is warm and colourful and more obviously full of life…it’s just a huge bugbear of mine!
Something that might help you appreciate being out and about in winter is a flask…or three. I have a tea/coffee flask, a soup flask and a whisky flask and each one is loved and appreciated throughout the cooler months. My consumption of hot drinks in the house skyrockets too and my alcohol choices go from summery chilled white wines and margaritas to brandy macs, whiskies and espresso martinis. I like drinking, and warming yourself up or killing off the cold ‘germs’ lingering in your throat is a great excuse! (Don’t tell me if there’s any science debunking that cold ‘germ’ thing. I don’t want to know)!
Anyway, because I still try to get out and about as much as I can my skin definitely takes a hit, so, I take the opportunity in winter to pamper myself. By pamper I just mean I up my skincare in general; more baths, more exfoliating, more face masks, more moisturising…you get the idea…just ‘more’! I know a lot of us are on a budget, but this really doesn’t have to cost much, and it so makes a difference. Alongside this type of self-care I think I naturally allow myself to relax with less guilt in winter too. I do more yoga, crafts and reading (which constitutes relaxing for me). Maybe the winter hibernation vibes let introverts like me spend more time getting on with introvert things!
Talking of introvert things, I think winter, which of course marks both the end of the current year and the beginning of the next, is a great time to reflect on what has happened and ruminate over what could be. This is something I REALLY enjoy doing. Now, I’m not talking about 5-year career plans (eurgh) or weight goals or anything like that, but something much softer. I’m actually going to write another blog at the beginning of the year about my ‘100 things to do in a year’ list and the cards I use to help me focus on what’s important to me. As this blog is already 2000 words long I won’t say any more about that ‘softer’ type of planning here or now…but look out for it if you’re interested in that.
So these are just some of the things I love about winter and some of the things that help make it such a pleasant time, for me. Of course, I also love Christmas and a sprinkling of snow and the smell of cold air and blue skied frosty days, but that all seemed too obvious. I can’t force you to like this season but hopefully if you’re a winter sceptic this has given you something to think about!
I wanted to do something in-keeping with October and Halloween but noticed that ‘haunted Aberdeen’ has been done more than once AND promoted on all ‘Visit Aberdeen’ social channels! So, I thought, how about a guide to the kirkyards and cemeteries of Aberdeen city?! Although, if I’m honest, I don’t find them spooky at all!
I considered ‘the city’ as anywhere within walking distance and I considered that as having the Don and Dee as Northern and Southern boundaries, Anderson Drive as my Western boundary and, well, the sea as my Eastern boundary. Obviously! There were 9 cemeteries and kirkyards that I could find but please let me know if I’ve forgotten any. I couldn’t find much interesting historical or official information on most of the places so it’s more about what I happened upon whilst I was having a mooch about.
Before we get into it, there are 3 things I want to say about visiting cemeteries or kirkyards. Firstly, it’s crazy what you can learn about people and the local history just from reading headstones. Secondly, it’s interesting what kind of conversations walking around a cemetery with another person can spark. Thirdly, it doesn’t have to be a morbid or morose event but obviously be respectful of where you are. Don’t be a dick!
St. Machar – The Chanonry
St Machar Cathedral is in Old Aberdeen. It sits above Seaton Park, near Cruickshank botanical gardens and the pretty part of the University of Aberdeen and because of that I think this is the prettiest and most peaceful out of the 9 to go for a wander.
I first came here because it’s close to work and I wanted to go for a wander over lunch…but also, I had read in multiple places that the left upper quarter of William Wallace was interred in the cathedral behind a star. I then found out from the lovely staff at the cathedral that this is very much not true. It seemed to be something that they get asked a lot! Deep down, I still hope that part of William Wallace is there and that for some inherently mystical reason the cathedral staff have to throw tourists, like me, off the scent!
As St Machar is the first place I visited when I intended to write this blog it’s the first place I noticed the square and compass mark of the Freemasons with the G in the middle. Apparently, this stands for God, Geometry or Great Architect depending on your persuasion. I guess it doesn’t tell you much, other than the owner of the grave is a Freemason, but once I’d seen it on one headstone, I started to see it everywhere!
Snow Kirk – College Bounds
I’ve actually written about the Snow Kirk before in another blog (https://fromakingdombythesea.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/aberdeen/). The Snow Kirk, also known as the kirkyard of St Mary of the Snows, is a secret graveyard tucked right in the midst of the Old Aberdeen university campus. It was once the home of a Catholic church and, as such, the Snow Kirk is a Catholic place of burial. As we all know Catholics weren’t super popular during the reformation but what happened to the Snow Kirk during this time of upheaval is apparently a matter of debate. The church no longer stands but the graveyard still remains and is still in use, although rarely. As far as I know, very few people know that the Snow Kirk is there and even fewer have actually visited. It’s worth going. I think it’s a weirdly haunting place, not because of the dead, but because of where it is and what surrounds it now. It’s almost like people just shut it away and forgot it was there.
St. Peter’s – King Street
St. Peter’s spans a large area between King Street and Spital, although, as far as I’m aware, the gate leading onto Spital is always locked. This graveyard is really quite stunning with lots of trees, a small mausoleum (although that sounds a bit grand), a fair bit of wildlife and some very old and interesting gravestones. In fact, now I think about it, it might just top St. Machar as the most beautiful graveyard.
Having said that, it also feels a bit dark and isolated in parts. Or, maybe it’s better to say I felt a bit isolated when I visited there alone! I walked right to the back of the graveyard towards Spital where the oldest graves are and noticed that the exit was locked…and then I noticed how many hiding places there were…and then I thought about the couple of lone men I’d seen walking around towards the King Street part of the graveyard. (Men who were almost definitely just minding their own business!) For some reason the Margaret Atwood quote, “‘Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” then came to mind and I powerwalked out of St. Peter’s so fast I probably looked like I’d seen a ghost!
But before I ran away, I did spot a few interesting things. This graveyard holds a lot of people who had very grand jobs; tea planters, magistrates, accountants and authors, including the author of ‘Thrummy Cap’. I suggest you look it up, it’s pretty cute. I always like to spot old job titles and also find the oldest headstone. In this case, the oldest grave I found was from 1806, one Euphemiae Mathison.
I also came across the pretty tragic story of Thomas M. Stuart born in 1860. He was the Chief Engineer of the Arrow Liner, Principia. The Principia was on fire for 3 days before it was wrecked on “a dark stormy night” off the Faroe Islands in 1885. He was thought to have survived in the sea for 40 hours before he “perished of the cold”. He was picked up 2 days after the wreck and buried on the Faroes, only to be re-interred in Aberdeen later. This was all written on the monument in St. Peter’s. I later found out that only 1 man was rescued from the Principia disaster and 27 men drowned.
Like the Snow Kirk I’ve also talked about Trinity Cemetery before, specifically the Titanic story, which is in the same blog post I mentioned earlier (https://fromakingdombythesea.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/aberdeen/). In short, buried here is the Cornishman Robert Hichens. Robert Hichens was the steersman and quartermaster of the Titanic and was at the helm during it’s tragic accident. He survived the Titanic in a lifeboat alongside an American millionairess, but tragedy apparently followed him until he had a heart attack of the Aberdeenshire coast. He was buried by the shipping company in a cheap grave without a marker. But years later, his family who thought he’d been buried at sea, learned about his situation all the way up here in the Northeast of Scotland. Originally, they laid a wooden cross in his space but later funded a new memorial which has only recently been placed. As a nice touch it also pays tribute to another man that was interred with him.
Before and After: Unmarked to Marked
There is also an interesting memorial “in memory of those who gave their bodies for the increase of knowledge and the advance of medicine”. (It’s at the top of the hill, closest to the sea.) It’s not big or fancy but I’ve just never seen anything like that before.
John Knox – Mounthooly
The John Knox church on the Mounthooly roundabout has now been converted into flats but of course the pretty kirkyard behind the old church still remains.
I actually went here a while back, way before I thought about doing this blog because I’d heard about an interested wooden plaque/headstone/monument…I can’t quite remember now! I couldn’t find it. I can’t find any pictures of it and information on it is scanty, which makes me wonder if it’s really there at all. I would like to go back in winter though when there are fewer leaves to have another look. If you know if it exists or where it is, please give me a shout!
St. Nicholas – Union Street
St. Nicholas is a very old and higgledy-piggledy kirkyard, which seems to be full of interesting folk such as Captain William Penny, an arctic explorer who assisted in the Franklin search expeditions. It’s too long a story to tell here but tale of the Franklin expedition and the search parties that followed is really interesting. I really need to go back at some point and have more of a read around. St. Nicholas is right in the centre of the city, on Union Street so it’s definitely an easy place to locate and walk through.
I came to St. Nicholas with my best pal, Anneli, and she provided me with the story I’ll tell here. I haven’t found it yet, but the grave of John Henry Anderson is in this kirkyard. My guess is that you’ve never heard of him, but Houdini certainly had, and he actually paid for his memorial. John Anderson was an excellent illusionist and great at promoting himself. At his height he had a theatre in Glasgow and performed all across the globe. Apparently his most notorious illusion was the ‘Great Gun Trick’, also known as the ‘Bullet Catch’. From these names I bet you can guess what that entailed! The young Houdini admired John Anderson so much that he paid his grave in Aberdeen a visit. Once he was at the graveside however, he noted how poorly kept the grave and memorial was so decided to pay for a new one. That memorial is still in St. Nicholas.
East St. Clement’s – St. Clement Street
St. Clement’s is the kirkyard I almost missed. I read that there was something in the old fishing village of Footdee but I didn’t remember it and when I went to have a look I couldn’t find it. Footdee is tiny so if there was a kirkyard then I would have seen it…so I thought whatever I’d read was wrong and I went home! Luckily whilst I was making the map for this blog I noticed a church and kirkyard in the centre of the harbour industrial area near Footdee. It’s not the prettiest area and the kirkyard is unfortunately littered with condoms, but despite that, the boarded up church and old kirkyard are rather nice.
This, like many of the graveyards in Aberdeen, is the home to many folk with seafaring careers. Mostly Ship Builders, Shipmasters, Ship Owners, Tide Masters (Customs Officials) and Merchants. There are however also a few Stay Makers (Corset Makers), Bookbinders and Skinners.
There was one headstone in particular that caught my interest. Robert Cattanach (Shipmaster) died in Jamaica in 1824. His son, a Shipmaster, died in Laguna, South America in 1839. Another son, also a Shipmaster, died at the mouth of the Danube in 1847. Finally, a Son in Law was ‘lost at sea’. All of the men in this grave died young, all of the women lived well into their 70s. I think that probably says something about the life and times of seafaring folk in the 1800s!
Nellfield – Nellfield Place
I went to Nellfield with my very good friend Anneli. She’s a great friend for many reasons but the fact that she didn’t skip a beat in agreeing to come to a couple of graveyards with me and the ease at which she can chat about anything, including death, are definitely good reasons! It’s not often that you can turn to your pal and ask ‘buried or cremated’?!
This cemetery was very peaceful and certainly worth a wander around. Anneli is Swedish and told me that many of the cemeteries in Sweden are more like parks with plenty of benches for people to come and enjoy the space as well as paying their respects. I think Nellfield would be a lovely place to sit and take a break but it doesn’t really seem to be ‘the done thing’ over here! I think people here would probably think you were a bit weird and disrespectful if you whipped out your picnic next to a load of headstones. Such a shame.
There are lots of important sounding folk interred here including an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Members of Parliament, a Lord Provost, a Naval Commander and a Customs Commissioner in China. In fact, the memorial to the folk working in China is really quite cool.
The only other thing I saw that definitely feels worth mentioning is a memorial to Mary Scot Bryce, it just seems quite sad! She was a native of South Carolina and the memorial states she ‘visited this country in search of her health but found a grave’. Poor woman!
Allenvale – Riverside Drive
I’ve passed by this graveyard multiple times when heading out towards Banchory and thought, ‘I must go there’. Mostly because the view from the road reminds me vaguely of the Necropolis in Glasgow…although I didn’t think it was so alike once I was walking around. (The Necropolis is super cool by the way.) I’m not going to lie, Allenvale was a bit of a rush job. We still spent about 45 minutes there and walked around the whole area but didn’t stop much. This place is huge! Maybe it was because I was with an Italian but we noticed a lot of Italian graves…and also a lot of military graves if that floats your boat.
So that’s it, the 9 kirkyards and cemeteries of Aberdeen city. Maybe I wouldn’t quite suggest doing what I did, tracking down burial sites and then systematically visiting them all, but I would definitely suggest having a wander in a graveyard once in a while. It’s surprising what you can learn and how much it can clear your head, they’re peaceful places. I’m going to leave you with a poem that I found written on a headstone in St. Peters;
How are the roses on that cheek decayed,
Which late, the purple light of youth displayed.
Health on his form cach sprightly grave bestowed,
With life and thought cach speaking fouture glowed.
And yet while fate delays th’impending, we
Are roused to thought anticipate the blow.
Last thus encompassed with funereal gloom,
Site one, ye bend o’or some untimely tomb.
O’ur my dust, loved parents, friends, thy fears, pain.
You know by what means I am gone but rouse thy state.
One of my biggest bugbears is when I move to a new area and people tell me you can’t explore without a car. When I moved to West Wales people told me I was lucky I had a car otherwise I wouldn’t be able to get out and about (which isn’t true) and when I moved up to Aberdeen people told me it was a shame I didn’t have a car because I’d struggle to get out of the city for mini adventures. I admit that in many ways having a car makes things much easier and sometimes I do miss having my own (I sold my car to fund my masters…and my ME was bad enough at the time I thought I shouldn’t drive). BUT it is entirely possible to get out and about using public transport, you just have to plan a little more. So, here are 5 places in the shire of Aberdeen that I would very much recommend and are totally accessible without a vehicle.
Crathes Castle and Drum Castle by bus
Crathes CastleCrathes Castle grounds
Drum Castle
(If you’re reading this from the other side of the pandemic then you won’t need to pay attention to some of these details, but, if you’re mid pandemic there’s just the odd statement on how much these sites are open.)
The stagecoach 201 regularly leaves from Union Street and stops pretty much outside Drum Castle and then Crathes Castle, you just have to walk up the drive. When I first arrived here and first took a bus trip out to Crathes (for a beekeeping course) an old Aberdonian lady I’d been chatting to at the bus stop took it upon herself to sit next to me and point out things from her life spent in the area. It was really quite lovely but I can’t guarantee friendly old ladies if you take the 201! Anyway, Crathes Castle, which is run by National Trust Scotland, does castle tours, has a shop and café, a woodland play area and extensive grounds for walking. At the moment, only the grounds are open, but looking at the website it seems like they maybe planning for the rest of it to re-open around the 1st September. Normally everything’s open all year.
Just up the road, or down the road, depending on how you look at it is Drum Castle. They have castle tours, a café and shop, a rose garden and lots of land to roam on. Currently, only their outdoor spaces are open, this means that their toilets are closed too. As above, I think that they may be planning to re-open some more bits on the 1st September.
I’m not sure what else to say really. I mean they’re National Trust for Scotland properties, ‘it does what it says on the tin’. Good castle tours run by knowledgeable folk, great cafes, expensive shops and outside spaces humming with wildlife. I feel like you know what you’re getting when you turn up somewhere like this! I guess if you’re really keen you could do both castles in one day but alternately there is enough at each place to spend and enjoy a whole day. Depends what you’re looking for.
Newburgh seal colony and Forvie nature reserve by bus
The Stagecoach 61 takes you to the town of Newburgh and from there you can walk to the Newburgh grey seal colony which is down Beach Road past Newburgh Inn, or you can walk to the North and over the bridge across the River Ythan and enter the Forvie Nature Reserve. Right now the website for Forvie says ‘BUSY – PLEASE AVOID’ and I imagine that is probably also true for the seal colony. I don’t know if it has been busy or if they’ve been expecting it to be or what, but be sensible, obviously! As Nicky S says, if it looks busy, then it’s too busy! I think this is especially true for the seal colony. Just be respectful, don’t approach seals, don’t run around shouting, mind your dog, don’t be a dick. When I’ve been there the seals have been on the beach the other side of the river and in the water, so it’s been easy to just find a cosy spot on the sand and watch them. Forvie also has seals but is known for it’s colony of breeding eider ducks, which is the largest in Britain and the four species of tern that hang out there. The habitat here is really varied so it’s always interesting. There’s always something new to see. My supervisor has even seen a whale off the estuary, I can’t remember what kind…as a wild guess Minke maybe…but that’s certainly a story that keeps me returning to Forvie to scan the horizon!
Stonehaven by train
So, I’ve chosen a poor time to write this. I chose Stonehaven and Dunnottar castle partly because there’s a really quick and easy train there from Aberdeen. Not only is Aberdeen in its second week of local lockdown as I write this (meaning you shouldn’t travel more than 5 miles from the city) but there are no trains between Aberdeen and Dundee until the 3rd September due to a tragic derailment. There is of course a bus replacement service though. Hopefully even if you can’t go anywhere right now, this might inspire you for the future.
Anyway, Stonehaven is a lovely little town. It has a museum, some cute little shops like ‘My Beautiful Caravan’ and eateries like the ‘The Marine Hotel’, which has a restaurant and bar run (?) by 6° North. …Actually, I’m not 100% sure what the full involvement of 6° North in The Marine Hotel is! Sorry! But I do know that the food and beer is excellent! There’s also a really cool harbour festival every year which I believe happens around August and a yearly new year’s fire festival. I haven’t been to that, yet, but I hear good things. Also in Stonehaven are the Dunnottar Woods, I’ve only been walking there once but they were much bigger and cooler than I expected.
The main attraction in Stonehaven, however, is Dunnottar Castle, which is a 30ish minute walk along the cliffs from the harbour. I’ve been twice, once in winter and once in summer. I’m already biased because I strongly dislike summer and I love winter but I would recommend a visit to the castle in the depths of winter! I first went in February and made sure that I got to the castle as soon as it opened. This meant I had the whole castle to myself for about half an hour. Walking up to that imposing structure on my own whilst the weather was cold, grey and hazy gave me so many feelings. Walking alone around the castle, including into dark little rooms that held witches (aka women!) and peering over the walls and down to the cold, unforgiving sea below gave me even more feelings! When I went in summer, the castle and surrounding cliffs were crawling with people. Crawling. Obviously it’s great people want to visit a historical site and I would never begrudge a place in need of constant upkeep earning £’s over the summer period BUT, personally, busy places are not my jam. Right now (August 2020), during the pandemic, the castle is open but you have to buy tickets online before you arrive.
Cruden Bay and New Slains by bus
Just up the road from Newburgh and Forvie, still on the stagecoach 61, is Cruden Bay and New Slains. Cruden Bay is a nice, well umm, bay, with a long beach… and just a short walk away through a wooded area and past a field is New Slains Castle. New Slains is a ruin resting on top of a cliff and colonised by seabirds. Its free to enter and there are no barriers so you can explore to your hearts content. If you’re feeling fit you can also walk North along the sea-cliffs to the Bullers of Buchan and at the right time of year these cliffs are busy with guillemots, kittiwakes and fulmar. I’m not sure how busy it gets here but I’ve visited before in August and there’s only been a handful of groups/families about and there’s plenty of room for you to avoid each other! I’ve heard that in it’s heyday this Baronial mansion saw the likes of folk like Bram Stoker who took inspiration from New Slains for his novel Dracula. Apparently, the building slowly fell into ruin after the roof was removed for tax avoidance reasons. I love nuggets of information like that.
Peterhead prison museum by bus
Also on the route of the Stagecoach 61 is Peterhead and in Peterhead is the Peterhead prison museum….which is currently open, but, like Dunnottar, I think they’re asking you to buy tickets online before you arrive. This museum is so cool for so many reasons. For a start it’s just interesting to see inside a prison that was still in use until 2013. There are also tonnes of stories about general prison life, a mock up of a dirty protest (which is definitely an assault on the senses) and loads of information on the Peterhead Prison riot back in 1987. I won’t say too much about it because I won’t do the story justice and I’ll definitely get stuff wrong, but the riot saw intervention by the SAS after the prisoners took hostages, including 56 year old Jackie Stuart. 33 years later, at 89 years old, Jackie Stuart is still regularly frequenting the museum and talking to tourists. It was so crazy interesting to meet him and have a chat. A prison might seem like an odd place to take a day trip but trust me, this place is awesome.
I’ve mentioned the Stagecoach 61 three times now (they’re not paying me!!!), and incidentally this bus also stops at another cool place that’s worth a very brief mention. I’ve not explored Ellon extensively but I have been to two places there that are worth visiting; ‘Coffee Apothecary’ and the BrewDog mothership. Getting public transport to one of the best breweries in the UK is obviously a very sensible idea!
So, if you aren’t able to drive or just don’t want to these are 5 great options that’ll hopefully give you some inspiration for exploring the county by public transport. If you are able to drive but you don’t have your own vehicle then I can definitely recommend co-wheels car club. They’re a company that have cars dotted about all over the UK but they have lots within Aberdeen. They’ve got manuals and automatics, electrics and petrols, smalls cars, big cars and vans! I’ve used them a lot for day trips and I’ve regularly decided that I don’t want to come home yet and extended my booking just by tapping a few things in the co wheels app. I’ve lost my access card, called the co wheels number and gained entry with a regular chip and pin in my wallet within minutes. Anyway, I’ll stop trying to sell co-wheels to you now (I don’t have shares!), just know they’re a good option!
In A Kingdom By The Sea 