A couple of weeks ago I managed to have a little break in Aberdeen, visiting my friend Joy. The time coincided with a couple of the sunniest days so far this year which was very welcome (both for me and Aberdonians)!
On the evening of my arrival, I took Joy for a meal out at the Merchant Bistro. We were too busy catching up for me to take photos but the meal and service were fantastic (and it gets bonus points for accepting Tastecards on weeknights) and I’d definitely return with Mr B. On the following day, as well as a lovely walk along the river Don, we also took ourselves off for an afternoon’s jaunt to Stonehaven (just 20 minutes by train from Aberdeen) and a walk up to Dunnottar Castle. I was just a couple of weeks too early to swim in the (heated) open air pool, so I must go back for a return visit, maybe at the end of the summer. Our walk from the station took us along down the high street and onto the beach, then through the quaint harbour and up a hill onto the path for Dunnottar Castle.
The view from the cliffs, taking in the view of the castle, cliffs and waves was quite something and somewhere I’d love to visit again. It’s a mile and a half from Stonehaven Harbour, though unfortunately there’s no vehicular access (that I could see) to the castle without walking on the cliff path – which is not hilly past the initial climb from the harbour, but undulates a little bit.
After snapping away to my heart’s content (although I was regretting not bringing my DSLR), we walked back into town and snaffled icecream just before closing time from E Giulianotti. This was the most gelato-type icecream I’ve had in Scotland (Honeycomb and Fruits of the Forest were my choices) and my medium cone kept me occupied all the way back to the station.
The following morning, before getting my train back to Inverness was spent going down to the Old Aberdeen University Campus, then I got a bus back to Aberdeen for a wander round the shops.
I managed to nab a few new tops in the Debenhams sale, a couple of books, and a delicious lunch in Food Story where I could have quite happily holed myself up in for the whole day. The white chocolate peanut millionaire shortbread was out of this world!
That was my short and sweet visit to Aberdeen – I hope to make another visit again this year (hopefully before the open air pool in Stonehaven closes for the winter!)
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