99 things to do
Scotland's
Castle and Whisky Country is home to more castles per acre than anywhere
else in the UK (nearly 300 if you want to count!)
We're also home to more than half of Scotland's malt whisky distilleries - or you could say we're the spiritual home of the dram!
You can find the world's only Malt Whisky Trail in Moray, a route taking in 8 malt whisky distilleries and 1 cooperage
Aberdeen - 'The Granite City' - is one of the most distinctive cities in the United Kingdom being built predominantly from granite, which sparkles in the sunshine and even after rain
Aberdeen is one of the few cities in the UK with a beach, giving rise to its other nickname - 'The Silver City By The Golden Sands'
Green Fingers
Another of Aberdeen's names - The 'Flower of Scotland' - with millions of roses, daffodils and crocuses it is easy to see where the name came from!
Victoria Park has Aberdeen's large granite fountain constructed of 16 types of granite. The park's garden for the blind is filled with plants specially selected for their scent and texture and have Braille labels
Crates Castle has 8 gardens in its grounds, which are some of the most photographed in Britain. The Blue Garden and the Herbaceous borders are particularly spectacular
The City of Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom award a record 11 times and has been banned from entering by the judges on more than 1 occasion!
Pitmedden Garden - one of the country's finest Elizabethan knot gardens - needs 40,000 plants every year to form the design traced out by more than 3 miles of boxwood hedge. It has a very rare moon dial as a centre piece
Europe's largest gardens under glass are the Winter Gardens in Aberdeen's Duthie Park, which also houses the largest cacti collection in the country and there are over 100,000 rose bushes on the park's rose mound
Life on the Ocean Wave
Aberdeen's maritime past - ship building, fishing and oil are all brought to life in the city's Maritime Museum by the harbour
Marble from Portsoy on the Banffshire coast was used in the construction of the Palace of Versailles
The Ashvale in Aberdeen, Zanre's in Peterhead and The Bervie in Inverbervie are all previous winners of 'Chip Shop Of The Year'
Pennan on the North-east coast was the location for the film "Local Hero" starring Burt Lancaster and more recently BBC television's "All Along The Watchtower"
Scotland's large Ice House can be found at Tugnet in Spey Bay
The area has always been renowned for its cuisine. Where better to eat 'Cullen Skink' soup than in its home town of Cullen on the Moray Firth coast
Turrets, Towers and Troubles
Balmoral Castle on Deeside is one of the most famous buildings in the world and has been the Royal Family's holiday home through seven generations since 1852. The grounds and ballroom are open to the public from April to end of July
The Honours of Scotland (Scottish Crown Jewels) were hidden in Dunnottar Castle to hide them from Oliver Cromwell
Scotland's only Castle Trail - a signposted tourist trail through the area takes in 11 of the finest examples of Scotland's built heritage
It is believed that the world famous Disney castle was modelled on Craigievar Castle in Royal Deeside. Dame Judi Dench liked it so much she tried to buy it during the filming of "The Last Of The Blond Bombshells"
Secret passages are said to exist at Craigievar and Fyvie Castles
For those who like their spirits more transparent than their whisky, Fyvie and Crathes claim to have resident ghosts!
For the romantics Scotland's Castle and Whisky Country is the perfect place to tie the knot - with wedding venues at fairytale castles and their breathtaking gardens
The Water of Life
Strathisla distillery in Keith, founded in 1876, is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands
Experience the Angels' Share - the 2% of whisky which evaporates naturally into the air each year - you don't always need a glass to sample the local tipple!
Glenfiddich is the only Highland distillery to bottle the water of life on site- and tours of the distillery are free
Macallan Single Malt Whisky is the most popular whisky in America whilst Glen Grant is a favourite of the Italians - both are produced here
Gordon and MacPhail's shop in Elgin stocks more than 630 different whiskies - staggering in more ways than one!
Back in Time
More than 9,000 archaeological sites cover Grampian, from Iron Age hill forts and Pictish standing stones, to stones circles from Neolithic times to the Bronze Age
Grampian Highlands has 25% of all the UK's standing stone circles and all of the finest examples of Europe's recumbent circles
Forres has the tallest Pictish stone in Scotland (Sueno's Stone), standing at 23 feet
Archaeolink is Scotland's pre-history park, an orientation point to Grampian's heritage of ancient stones, allows visitors to travel back 6,000 years
The Brig o' Balgownie in Aberdeen is Scotland's oldest medieval bridge started in 1286, completed in 1329
An Active Destination
With more than 52 golf clubs, Scotland's Castle and Whisky Country has one for every week of the year, some of which are championship courses
The area's coastline offers great opportunities for watersport enthusiasts such as surfing, sailing and yachting
Two of Scotland's five skiing destinations, The Lecht and Glenshee, are located in Scotland's Castle and Whisky Country
Glenshee operates one of Britain's largest chair-lift systems and is open all year round offering visitors breathtaking scenery
The Lecht also offers all year round fun with deval karts, quad bikes, the dry ski slope and chairlift rides
Nordic skiing at Huntly is available all year round too!
Walkers welcome! Mountains,, glens, hills and organised walks provide a wide range of alternatives for walkers of all abilities. www.walkingwild.com provides lots of ideas
Some of Scotland's best fishing can be found on the Spey, Dee, Don, Deveron and Ythan, as well as popular smaller rivers such as the Ugie, plus loch and estuary fishing
And for the one that got away - Ugie Salmon Fishery, dating from 1585, is the oldest salmon fish house in Scotland!
Stonehaven's unique art deco open air Olympic-sized salt water swimming pool is the largest of its kind in the UK - and the moonlight dips are a regular event during the summer
The area's natural environment of rivers, mountains and forests are ideal for a wide variety of outdoor activities including cycling, canoeing, off-road driving, rafting, shooting, stalking, trekking and diving
With some of the best gliding conditions in the UK, spectators and participants alike are thrilled by the gliders at Dinnet by Aboyne
An Eventful Visit
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival takes place in May each year and is a four day celebration of the water of life in its spiritual home
The region is host to two very unique fire festivals - Stonehaven Fireball Festival on 31st December each year and the Burning of the Clavie, 11th January each year
Popular Music festivals include the Stonehaven Folk Festival, Banchory Fiddle Festival and Speyfest in Fochabers
Scotland's Castle and Whisky Country hosts a full calendar of Highland Games, with one taking place every weekend from June to September
The Portsoy Traditional Boat Festival in July each year is a spectacle with all kinds to boats racing from the 17th century harbour
Following in the Footsteps of the Famous
The Royal Family have attended The Braemar Highland Gathering, held on the first Saturday in September, since 1817
The Lonach Gathering is one of the best places for star spotting. In recent years Billy Connolly has brought his showbiz chums including Steve Martin, Judi Dench and Robin Williams
Charlie Chaplin stayed at The Tor-Na-Coille Hotel in Banchory when on holiday on Royal Deeside
Mary Queen of Scots once stayed at Delgatie Castle by Turriff (…yes we know she stayed in every castle in Scotland!)
Lawrence of Arabia first developed his love of sand dunes while on holiday at Collieston
Flipper may well be one of the dolphins in the Moray Firth - the best location in Britain to see dolphins. It's home to the UK's largest resident population of blue-nosed dolphins
Dunnottar Castle by Stonehaven played a starring role in Franco Zeffrelli's "Hamlet" starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close
Culture Vultures
Drum Castle dates back to the 13th century and the old keep is one of the three oldest towers in Scotland. It was once a royal hunting seat of Robert the Bruce
Old Aberdeen an independent burgh until 1891, still retains an olde worlde charm with its narrow closes. At its heart is Kings College with its distinctive crown style roof
Fittie (or Footdee if you want to use its Sunday name) is one of the best preserved traditional fishing villages in the country
Provost Ross's House is Aberdeen's oldest surviving "town house" dating back to 1593 - it's open and free
Dating back to the 13th century, Fyvie Castle is home to many treasures including paintings by Batoni, Raeburn and Gainsborough and one of the best preserved Victorian bowling alleys
Aberdeen is home to six shopping centres and an excellent selection of individual shops
Union Street, Aberdeen's main shopping throughfare is actually an enormous flyover - peek over Union Bridge and see just how elevated the whole street is
The only Jacobite pardon in private ownership can be seen at Leith Hall
Aberdeen Art Gallery is one of Scotland's major galleries and houses one of the best provincial art collections in Britain with 18th century to modern contemporary work
Marischal College is the world's second largest granite building and is recognised at one of the world's finest example in granite architecture
Duff House has been used as a hotel, prisoner of war camp and a hospital. Today the House is an outpost for the Scottish Galleries and holds some of the best paintings in Scotland with Ramsays, Raeburns and an El Greco all on display
Union Bridge in the centre of Aberdeen is the largest single-span granite arch in the world
Huntly Castle is hailed as having the finest surviving heraldic doorway in the UK
Aberdeen has a thriving night life including Scotland's biggest nightclub - Amadeus - and The Prince of Wales in Aberdeen has the longest bar in Scotland
Family Fun
One of the newest Aberdeen attractions is Satrosphere, a science and technology centre with the emphasis very much on a hands on experience which brings science alive
Codona's Amusement Park at Aberdeen beach is Scotland's largest permanent funfair
Kinnaird Head, Fraserburgh, was the very first lighthouse built in Scotland in 1780 - prior to that it was a castle! The new museum now open alongside tells the story of Scotland's lighthouses
Storybook Glen by Aberdeen is an attractive small theme park with lift-size and giant tableaux of favourite childhood cartoon characters
Macduff Marine Aquarium has an unusual centrepiece display tank open to the sky - divers feed the fish daily
Back to Your Roots
The Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen allows visitors to re-live the dramatic story of one of the British Army's most famous regiments
Scotland's Tartan Musuem can be found in Keith, with examples from Scotland's 2,500 tartans and a pair of John Brown's tartan underpants!
Over the centuries Aberdonians travelled to every corner of the globe. The Aberdeen and N.E. Scotland Family History Society can help descendants to return and trace their family roots
Scotland's Castle and Whisky Country is home to many clans including Gordon, Fraser, Forbes, Buchan, Innes, Keith and Barclay
Johnstons of Elgin is the only mill in the UK to transform cashmere from fibre to garment. It's still a family run business - mill tours are free
Baxters of Speyside, founded in 1868, has a shop and museum tracing the history of one of Scotland's most famous family business, which are free of charge. (The pancakes are unmissable!)
Back to Nature
The North-east is one of the best places to view the spectacle of the 'Northern Lights' - the Aurora Borealis. Aberdeen Planetarium allows visitors to look into the sky and see other stars and planets
The River Spey, Scotland's second longest river at 110 miles, flows through Moray
Nature lovers will 'flock' to St Cyrus, The Sands of Forvie and the RSPB Fowlsheugh Reserve - which has one of the largest seabird colonies in Britain and called 'an international airport for seabirds'
The :Loch of Stratberg is the largest landlocked lagoon in the UK. The loch attracts thousands of birdwatchers in the autumn to watch the spectacle of thousands of flighting geese
The Victorian Heritage Trail allows visitors to enjoy some of the sights Queen Victoria enjoyed on her many trips to the area
Tomintoul is the highest village in the Highlands at 345m above sea level and offers one of the most dramatic drives in Europe
Spiritual Scotland
Aberdeen is blessed with three cathedrals. St. Andrews, St Mary's and St Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen with its heraldic ceiling dating back to 1520, is amongst the best in Europe
Nestling in a corner of Elgin's Cooper Park is a biblical garden containing every plant mentioned in the Bible, all 110 of them, together with life-size sculptures depicting the parables
Fyvie has a 19th century Kirk with a Tiffany window, Laird's pew and wine-glass pulpit
Elgin Cathedral was one of the most important religious centres in Scotland, but was sacked by the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390
Pluscarden Abbey in Moray is home to the only working monastery in mainland Scotland. Services, which are open to visitors, are held in Gregorian chant
Literary Connections
Mad bad gothic lad - and sometime poet - Lord Bryon went to school in Aberdeen
Slains Castle, an eerie ruin on the cliff tops by Cruden Bay is said to have inspired Bram Stoker to write "Dracula"
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon is set in his home land of the Mearns. The Grassic Gibbon visitor centre at Arbuthnott, Laurencekirk tells the story of his life and times
Shakespeare's play Macbeth is based on the former king of Scotland who was killed in the area at the battle of Lumphanan on the 15th August 1057
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote most of Treasure Island whilst at Braemar on Royal Deeside
And Finally…
Aberdeen is only just over 60 flying minutes from London and less than 2½ hours by car or train from Glasgow and Edinburgh
A warm welcome awaits one and all in Scotland's Castle and Whisky Country.
To make an accommodation reservation select Make an Online Reservation or telephone: +44 (0)1224 732124 or email - reservations@maryculterhousehotel.com
