Scot Free Tours Aberdeen

Scot Free Tours Aberdeen Free history walking tours of Aberdeen. City Centre, Old Aberdeen, Dark History & Old & Nu Aberdeen! But there is a bit more to this city than that.
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Sure, we all know about the oil and the granite and the weather. There are stories that you will never have heard. Stories about death, pirates, war, wizards, infra-red telescopes and Annie Lennox. And more death. Those are the stories that we want to share with you. Welcome to Aberdeen.

On this day, 20th August 1589…King James VI of Scotland marries his new wife Anne of Denmark! However what would come af...
20/08/2024

On this day, 20th August 1589…

King James VI of Scotland marries his new wife Anne of Denmark! However what would come after would destroy many lives across Scotland.

As the newlyweds travelled to Scotland, Dr Fian and his coven of witches raised a storm just off the east coast at North Berwick. The storm swept up the Royal ship and threatened to wreck the lives of the King and his new Queen. From that point on, the king was obsessed with witchcraft and a frenzy of witch hunts were sparked across Scotland.

Aberdeen accused around 80 witches of witchcraft, many were detained with jougs (an iron collar), many were tortured, and many were sentenced to death.

Join our dark history tour Fiends For Life where tour guide Hollie unveils the stories of innocent men and women accused of witchcraft in Aberdeen.

Next tour - this Friday 23rd at 6pm!

⚔️ Fiends For Life: Dark History Tour of Aberdeen
⚰️ Selected Fridays @ 6pm
📍 Aberdeen Maritime Museum
🌙 Free (Donations welcome)

Summer is here! ☀️ 🏖️ It’s been blissful sunshine in the sparkling Granite City (although it took its time to arrive! ☔️...
14/08/2024

Summer is here! ☀️ 🏖️

It’s been blissful sunshine in the sparkling Granite City (although it took its time to arrive! ☔️)
Here’s some fun things to do in sunny Aberdeen this summer…

1. Build sandcastles at Aberdeen beach
2. Wander around the old fishing village of Fittie
3. Sunbathe in one of many of Aberdeen’s green spaces (Union Terrace Gardens, perhaps?)
4. Enjoy a tipple on the terrace at Aberdeen Art Gallery
5. Go dolphin spotting at Torry’s Greyhope Bay
6. Walk the cobbled streets of Old Aberdeen
7. Head to our brand new £1mil playground at Hazlehead park
8. Visit the stunning floral paradise of David Welch’s Winter Gardens
9. Marvel at nature at Donmouth Local Nature Reserve
10. Join a free walking tour of Aberdeen, of course! Book your place at scotfreetours.com

🫧 City Centre
🌊 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
🛟 Fiends For Life: A Dark History Tour of Aberdeen
🚢 Old & Nu: Aberdeen’s Historic Centre and NuArt
⚓️ Craft Beer Tour

We’re well into our busy summer season! Tours are very popular among tourists visiting Aberdeen and those that call Aber...
07/08/2024

We’re well into our busy summer season! Tours are very popular among tourists visiting Aberdeen and those that call Aberdeen home. We’ve welcomed guests from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, China, Iran, Ireland, Australia, USA, and so many more.

Here’s a snapshot of July’s five star reviews…

⭐️ We recently participated in a walking tour in Aberdeen led by Rick, and I couldn't have been more impressed. Rick was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, offering deep insights into the historical aspects of the town. His enthusiasm and passion for Aberdeen's history were evident throughout the tour, making the experience both educational and enjoyable. He had a knack for storytelling that brought the history of Aberdeen to life.

⭐️ Excellent tour of Old Aberdeen (Aberdon) with Rebecca today. The tour was both informative and well planned with a lot of detail imparted in a relatively short time. Rebecca certainly knew her history and was very engaging.

⭐️ We did the Aberdeen City Centre walk, Taylor our guide was both informative and amusing, we really enjoyed it. A great insight to the history of the city.

Book a free tour of Aberdeen today on scotfreetours.com - we have five tours to choose from!

Have you ever visited St Machar’s Cathedral and wondered about its ceiling, or its hidden star etched into the wall, or ...
25/07/2024

Have you ever visited St Machar’s Cathedral and wondered about its ceiling, or its hidden star etched into the wall, or perhaps the fact it looks like half has been knocked down?

Join Rebecca on a walking tour of Old Aberdeen and marvel at Rebecca’s stories of the last 1500 years.

Did you know Rebecca only joined Scot Free Tours at the beginning of this summer season and already has 25 five star reviews? Amazing! 🌟

🥾 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
📍 The Old Townhouse, Old Aberdeen
🍂 Selected Saturdays @ 11am and Sundays at 2pm
✨ FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

Aberdeen’s Festival of the Sea! 🌊From 15th-28th July, Aberdeen is celebrating the history, traditions and relationship b...
16/07/2024

Aberdeen’s Festival of the Sea! 🌊

From 15th-28th July, Aberdeen is celebrating the history, traditions and relationship between the city and the sea. Where best to celebrate this than the picturesque Fittie?

Dating from 1809, these quaint cottages stand at the mouth of Aberdeen harbour. This would have been the perfect place for the fisherman and their families to live due to its proximity to the water's edge. The cottages were built facing a square, with no windows or doors in the east walls which sheltered the people from the harsh North Sea. Today, Fittie is a colourful oasis just a stone's throw from the city centre and is filled with unique and wonderful ornaments, paintings and seashells. 🐚🪸

Head to Aberdeen City Council’s online pages for details of the events hosted at Fittie Community Hall, Union Terrace Gardens, and the city’s gallery and museums.

Do you enjoy terrifying true crime documentaries and podcasts? Well why not learn the true crime stories of Aberdeen on ...
10/07/2024

Do you enjoy terrifying true crime documentaries and podcasts? Well why not learn the true crime stories of Aberdeen on a dark history tour.

Fiends For Life is a 90 minute ghostly walk of Aberdeen that delves into the city’s many mysteries. With stories of murderers, pirates, bodysnatchers and witches, be sure to be shocked, thrilled and delightedly disgusted by the fiends that walked Aberdeen’s streets.

🧙🏼‍♀️ Fiends For Life
⚰️ Fridays @ 6pm
📍 Aberdeen Maritime Museum
🌙 FREE! (Donations welcome)
🔗 Book your place now at scotfreetours.com

Tricksters of King’s College 🪅🎓Graduation season is upon us and King’s College has an alumni dating back over 500 years....
04/07/2024

Tricksters of King’s College 🪅🎓

Graduation season is upon us and King’s College has an alumni dating back over 500 years. Many were immersed in academia, and a few in skullduggery…

Have you heard of the riot of 1659? Or the student led jailbreak of 1705 from Aberdeen’s Tolbooth? Or perhaps the 1770 story of a siege! Once upon a time, the students had heckled some sailors drinking nearby. The students made a run for it, only for the sailors to be hot on their heels. The students had rushed into the college grounds and hid behind the gate but the boisterous sailors battered down the gate… but what was their fate?

Join us on a tour of Old Aberdeen where we tell tales of Aberdeen’s Greats and those that were out after dark.

🥾 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
📍 The Old Townhouse, Old Aberdeen
🍂 Selected Saturdays @ 11am and Sundays at 2pm
✨ FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

On this day, 30th June 1136 ✨The oldest harbour in Britain, Aberdeen Harbour Board was founded on this date 888 years ag...
30/06/2024

On this day, 30th June 1136 ✨

The oldest harbour in Britain, Aberdeen Harbour Board was founded on this date 888 years ago by King David I of Scotland. Back then, vessels would anchor at the mouth of the River Dee and rely on little boats to ferry the cargo back and forth, delivering goods for export and transport the crews. Since then, Aberdeen Harbour has expanded in every which way to accommodate the huge 4 million tonnes of cargo that pass through every year.

But perhaps the most exciting thing to have happened at Aberdeen Harbour is the emergence of magician Harry Houdini. On 1st July 1901, Houdini dived into the chilly water whilst chained and handcuffed. Was a cold and watery demise inevitable? Would the Granite City become synonymous for claiming the life of Harry Houdini? Join us on a walking tour of Aberdeen’s City Centre where we reveal all!

🌊 Aberdeen City Centre Walking Tour
📍 Mercat Cross, Castlegate
🚢 Saturdays at 2pm, Sundays at 11am
⚓️ FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

☀️ Happy Summer Solstice ☀️ Aberdeenshire has amazing ancient sites that celebrate the Summer Solstice. As the longest d...
21/06/2024

☀️ Happy Summer Solstice ☀️

Aberdeenshire has amazing ancient sites that celebrate the Summer Solstice. As the longest day of the year, the solstice marks midsummer. Prehistoric people observed the rising and setting of the sun, indicating when best to grow and harvest crops.

Aberdeenshire is home to stone circles that feature the unique recumbent stone. This large stone has been laid on its side with two stones flanking either side, creating a stone table. The Loanhead of Daviot Recumbent Stone Circle perfectly frames the midsummer Moon. Archaeologists have found evidence of feasting and communal gatherings here, was this the spot where locals gathered and celebrated the Summer Solstice?

Join our Aberdeen City Centre walking tour for a whistlestop tour of the last 8000 years of history, where we delve into the first people of Scotland and their remarkable stone circles.

☀️ Aberdeen City Centre Walking Tour
📍 Mercat Cross, Castlegate
🔎 Saturdays at 2pm, Sundays at 11am
🪨 FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

May was a month of fabulous busy tours, taking in the sights of Old Aberdeen, the City Centre, our dark history tour, an...
13/06/2024

May was a month of fabulous busy tours, taking in the sights of Old Aberdeen, the City Centre, our dark history tour, and even a private craft beer tour! We welcomed visitors from Singapore, London, Canada, Poland, Argentina, America, and Nigeria - to name just a few! Here’s what they thought to our free walking tours…

⭐️I had an incredible experience with tour guide Rebecca. She was exceptionally engaging and shared countless fascinating facts throughout the tour. Even though she hasn't lived there for long, she possessed remarkable knowledge about the city's hidden gems. Her enthusiasm and deep insight made the tour truly memorable. Highly recommended!

⭐️We did the historic tour of Old Aberdeen with Rick. Rick was informative, funny and took time to answer all questions. His stories entertained and educated - lots of fun facts! The time flew by and we were sad to see our time with Rick end. I would highly recommend this tour.

Join us on a tour of Aberdeen this weekend, we have tours in the morning, afternoon or evening!

🫧 City Centre
🌊 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
🛟 Fiends For Life: A Dark History Tour of Aberdeen
🚢 Old & Nu: Aberdeen’s Historic Centre and NuArt
⚓️ Craft Beer Tour

Book online at scotfreetours.com

This week marks the unveiling of Nuart’s 7th street art festival ‘Living Heritage’!International street artists, graffit...
05/06/2024

This week marks the unveiling of Nuart’s 7th street art festival ‘Living Heritage’!

International street artists, graffiti writers and muralists will reveal 10 new artworks around the Granite City with free walking tours this weekend. For more info and a map of where the new works will be, head to 2024.nuartaberdeen.co.uk

Scot Free Tours are very excited to see what's new 🤩

📸 Slim Safont (2022), Union Row

#2024

John J R Macleod invites us to sit a while and enjoy Duthie Park🌿This new sculpture was unveiled in the Autumn of 2023 a...
23/05/2024

John J R Macleod invites us to sit a while and enjoy Duthie Park🌿

This new sculpture was unveiled in the Autumn of 2023 and celebrates his co-discovery of insulin in 1922. Professor Macleod won the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology just a year later.

This life size bronze and granite sculpture honours his life and one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. Insulin has saved the lives of millions of people with type 1 diabetes.

The memorial is Scotland’s first and only “storytelling statue” so you can scan a QR code to hear John Macleod speak and watch a short documentary. Amazing!

You can learn all about Aberdeen's scientific greats on our City Centre and Old Aberdeen walking tours. They're free to join!

🥾 Aberdeen City Centre Walking Tour
📍 Mercat Cross, Castlegate
🔎 Saturdays and Sundays
⚖️ Free (Donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

Have you ever wondered what's gone on in the Granite City during its darkest hours? In centuries gone by, night time was...
16/05/2024

Have you ever wondered what's gone on in the Granite City during its darkest hours? In centuries gone by, night time was the perfect disguise for bodysnatching at the local graveyards. Dr Andrew Muir and his students would split into lifting squads and head out into the dark depths of Aberdeen. Once they laid hands on a body, they would drive the co**se back into the city centre to be dissected by the anatomists. But one day they would be caught... and Dr Muir's dream would go up in flames...

Join our dark history tour Fiends For Life this Friday night to learn about the fate of Dr Andrew Muir and his illegal anatomy room ☠️

⚔️ Fiends For Life: Dark History Tour of Aberdeen
⚰️ Selected Fridays @ 6pm
📍 Meet @ Aberdeen Maritime Museum
🌙 Free (Donations welcome)

Old Aberdeen has got to be one of the prettiest places to explore in Spring 🌸🌼Why not see its sights on a free walking t...
09/05/2024

Old Aberdeen has got to be one of the prettiest places to explore in Spring 🌸🌼Why not see its sights on a free walking tour this weekend?

Join Rebecca on Saturday at 11am for a guided tour of St Machar's Cathedral, Wrights' and Coopers' Place and the fairy tale looking Powis Gates. You'll learn about William Wallace's macabre link to the cathedral, the tradesmen belonging to the wealthy Seven Incorporated Trades and how the Powis Gates are far from a fairy tale...

You can book your place on scotfreetours.com or simply turn up. We can't wait to see you (it's even forecast 18 degrees on Saturday!)

🥾 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
📍 The Old Townhouse, Old Aberdeen
🌸 Saturdays @ 11am
✨ FREE (donations are welcome)

Spring has sprung in Aberdeen! 🌸 April's tours were lots of fun, with double tours on Saturdays and Sundays and the retu...
03/05/2024

Spring has sprung in Aberdeen! 🌸 April's tours were lots of fun, with double tours on Saturdays and Sundays and the return of our very popular dark history tour Fiends For Life. We welcomed guests from all over the world, Canada, America, Singapore, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, Belgium... to name just a few!

Why not join us on a tour of Aberdeen, there is sure to be a story you'll enjoy.

⭐️ Aberdeen City Centre
⭐️ Great Scot: Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
⭐️ Fiends For Life: A Dark History Tour of Aberdeen
⭐️ Old & Nu: Aberdeen's Historic Centre & NuArt Street Art

Reserve your place today at scotfreetours.com

Back by popular demand, our Old & Nu Aberdeen tour begins this month! Join tour guide Rick and wander the Old King’s Hig...
25/04/2024

Back by popular demand, our Old & Nu Aberdeen tour begins this month! Join tour guide Rick and wander the Old King’s Highway, learning tales of the martyred monk, Aberdeen’s infamous ‘No Ladies Please’ pub and the city’s vibrant NuArt street art.

Book a tour of Aberdeen’s historic centre on scotfreetours.com and be amazed by the stories of Aberdeen’s once most important road.

🖼️ Old & Nu Aberdeen: Free Walking Tour of Aberdeen’s Historic Centre & NuArt Street Art
📍 Meet outside Contour Cafe, The Green
🕰️ Selected Sundays at 2pm
☀️ Free (Donations welcome)

Last month, Scot Free Tours welcomed the brilliant Rebecca to the tour guiding team. 🎉 Here’s a little bit about Rebecca...
18/04/2024

Last month, Scot Free Tours welcomed the brilliant Rebecca to the tour guiding team. 🎉 Here’s a little bit about Rebecca in her own words.

“I'm a Canadian from Nova Scotia (yes, Latin pros, that means "New Scotland")! I've lived around the world (including three years in Tokyo), and I've fallen in love with my newest stomping grounds, Aberdeen. (Huge fan of classic new wave, so of course it's a thrill to live in Annie Lennox's hometown!). Having tour guided in Canada, I am excited to join Scot Free Tours and share the Granite City's centuries of history and its truly jaw-dropping tales. I hope you'll seek them out and come join me on a tour!”

Rebecca has already received 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor

⭐️Our tour guide Rebecca was exceptionally knowledgeable, entertaining and had a great sense of humour. The history she shared shed light on the area, the legacy and the culture. The tour was so good that I booked another trip for tomorrow.

⭐️I did the Old Aberdeen tour with Rebecca today and it was fantastic! Our guide really knew her stuff and told interesting and engaging stories about the area, and was very happy to answer extra questions we had along the way.

Join Rebecca on a tour of Old Aberdeen on Saturdays at 10am.

🥾 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
📍 The Old Townhouse, Old Aberdeen
🍂 Saturdays @ 11am
✨ FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

Our Fiends For Life tour is crammed full of dark history, with tales of torture, crime and punishment and criminals’ gri...
10/04/2024

Our Fiends For Life tour is crammed full of dark history, with tales of torture, crime and punishment and criminals’ grisly demise.

Aberdeen has trialled and tested many methods of ex*****on over the centuries. Fiends such as Johnny Milne, Andrew Muir and Janet Wishart all have a different story to tell…

Join tour guide Hollie for a glimpse into the morbid and macabre on a tour of the darker side of Aberdeen.

⚔️ Fiends For Life: Dark History Tour of Aberdeen
⚰️ Selected Fridays @ 6pm
📍 Aberdeen Maritime Museum
🌙 Free (Donations welcome)

Monday 8th April marks a new tourist season in Aberdeen as we welcome the first cruise ship of the year! This summer, Sc...
05/04/2024

Monday 8th April marks a new tourist season in Aberdeen as we welcome the first cruise ship of the year!

This summer, Scot Free Tours will be running weekday tours to show tourists from far and wide the beauty of the Granite City.

Join a tour to learn about hidden histories, Aberdeen’s most famous faces, and where’s good to go for the best Aberdeen Angus and a wee dram. 🥃

Book a free tour today on scotfreetours.com - there are five tours to choose from!

🫧 City Centre
🌊 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
🛟 Fiends For Life: A Dark History Tour of Aberdeen
🚢 Old & Nu: Aberdeen’s Historic Centre and NuArt
⚓️ Craft Beer Tour

Provost Skene’s House is one of Aberdeen’s gems, dating back to the reign of Mary Queen of Scots in 1545. Back then the ...
28/03/2024

Provost Skene’s House is one of Aberdeen’s gems, dating back to the reign of Mary Queen of Scots in 1545. Back then the house was quite modest, just two stories high with a thatched roof and an outdoor timber staircase. But over the centuries that followed, the house was added to and extended in every direction and became an example of a fine granite house, long before granite was commercially quarried.

Many people have called this house home, from merchants, to the homeless, to Provost George Skene. Even the Duke of Cumberland called this house home for 6 weeks whilst he readied his troops for the Battle of Culloden!

This house has a very colourful history indeed, why not learn a little more on our free walking tour of Aberdeen?

🥾 Aberdeen City Centre Walking Tour
📍 Mercat Cross, Castlegate
🔎 Saturdays and Sundays
⚖️ FREE (Donations welcome!)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🕷️🧛🏻🪓🪦Our very popular Fiends For Life: A Dark History Tour of Aberdeen begins in two weeks time! This ...
22/03/2024

TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🕷️🧛🏻🪓🪦

Our very popular Fiends For Life: A Dark History Tour of Aberdeen begins in two weeks time! This hour and a half tour winds its way through the city and reveals stories of the most notorious characters that walked Aberdeen’s streets. Tales of murderers, pirates, witches and ghouls will be sure to linger with you long after the tour ends…

Book your place today on scotfreetours.com and experience Aberdeen’s gruesome past for yourself!

Friday 5th April
Friday 12th April
Friday 19th April

⚰️ Selected Fridays @ 6pm
📍 Aberdeen Maritime Museum
🌙 FREE (Donations welcome!)

Old Aberdeen really is one of the most picturesque parts of the city. Here’s a few of the houses you’ll be sure to marve...
14/03/2024

Old Aberdeen really is one of the most picturesque parts of the city. Here’s a few of the houses you’ll be sure to marvel at as we wander through Aberdeen’s old town on our free walking tour. Which house is your favourite? 🗝️

February was a chilly one but tourists from far and wide braved the cold to join a free walking tour! Last month we welc...
06/03/2024

February was a chilly one but tourists from far and wide braved the cold to join a free walking tour! Last month we welcomed guests from India, Australia, Singapore, England, Italy, China, and of course our very own Scotland, from Edinburgh to Thurso! Here’s what they thought to our tours…

⭐️ Fabulous tour with Rick. Been coming to Aberdeen for literally decades and now have a better understanding and appreciation of the city centre
Rick’s enthusiasm and knowledge are second to none

⭐️ Taylor was an absolute legend, a good tour both for myself local and my friend from Germany. Learning about the history of the city itself, the dark history of Aberdeen city council and the people that made up Aberdeen's history. Would recommend and will take others on the tour in the future, just bring warm jackets.

⭐️ It was an amazing tour. I got to know about the history of old Aberdeen and University of Aberdeen. We went to visit St. Machar Cathedral as well. Our tour guide Rick really knows a lot about Scotland's history. Overall amazing experience!😍

Book a free walking tour of Aberdeen today on scotfreetours.com - there are five tours to choose from!

Join us on a free walking tour this weekend 🥾 Discover stories of how Aberdeen came to be and the wonderful people that ...
23/02/2024

Join us on a free walking tour this weekend 🥾

Discover stories of how Aberdeen came to be and the wonderful people that have made Aberdeen the city it is today. Will you choose the tour that has stories of princes, pirates, and paupers? Or the tour that celebrates Aberdeen's greatest thinkers, scientists, explorers, inventors and writers? (or why not both!)

Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
Saturday 24th February
1pm
The Old Townhouse, Old Aberdeen
Free! (donations welcome)

Aberdeen City Centre
Sunday 25th February
10am
The Mercat Cross, Castlegate
Free! (donations welcome)

Read about our tours and book a place on scotfreetours.com

📸 St Machar's Cathedral, Old Aberdeen

It’s Valentine’s Day! 🌹 Our walking tours are scattered with love stories here and there, but one story that’s particula...
14/02/2024

It’s Valentine’s Day! 🌹

Our walking tours are scattered with love stories here and there, but one story that’s particularly spectacular belongs to a lady named Elizabeth Blackwell.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Marischal College’s principal and in the early 18th century, she married the enterprising gentleman Alexander Blackwell. He began his career as a doctor, then went on to become a publisher, and even went on to become a Royal court physician! But his harebraned ideas were unsuccessful, having never had the official qualifications for any position he had held. Alexander was heavily fined and the Blackwell’s were destitute. Elizabeth was forced to go it alone when her husband was locked up in a debtor’s gaol.

She fended for her family with a life changing, golden idea. Having studied as an artist years before, Elizabeth began illustrating plants and herbs that had medicinal qualities. She would draw each plant from life (all 500!) and detail beneath its latin name and its herbal factfile. Finally, A Curious Herbal was published and it was a resounding success, even recommended by the Royal College of Physicians! This publication was so popular, and so successful that it afforded Elizabeth to release her husband from debtor’s gaol.

Not only did Elizabeth go to the lengths of publishing a book for her husband’s release, but she advanced medicine for years to come. Surely, this is a love story worth celebrating this Valentine’s Day?

Learn about Aberdeen’s strong women and its beautiful love stories on a free walking tour. You can book a place on scotfreetours.com 🩷

✨ SPECTRA returns! ✨ From Thursday 8th - Sunday 11th February, Aberdeen will be illuminated by Scotland’s Festival of Li...
07/02/2024

✨ SPECTRA returns! ✨

From Thursday 8th - Sunday 11th February, Aberdeen will be illuminated by Scotland’s Festival of Light!

This year SPECTRA will be celebrating its 10th year anniversary with displays that stretch across the city, including vivid artworks at Aberdeen Art Gallery, Union Terrace Gardens and Marischal College. Ten local artists will premier augmented reality artworks such as talking trees to local wildlife, a hag stone-inspired portal, and even a dazzling rainbow bridge.

Be sure to pop along to see the Granite City’s winter nights lit up with eye-catching projections, interactive sculptures, and magical installations. Where will you go first? 🌈

It’s been a cold and frosty start to 2024 but our tour guides have been out in full force! January saw us welcome guests...
02/02/2024

It’s been a cold and frosty start to 2024 but our tour guides have been out in full force! January saw us welcome guests from China, Dublin, Poland, Kazakhstan, Canada, Russia and of course our homely Scotland.

Why not dust off your walking boots and don your woolly hat and scarves and join a free walking tour of Aberdeen this February, you never know you might discover something you never knew about the Granite City! ❄️

#2024

Archibald Simpson, our famed local architect! Many Aberdonians are familiar with Archibald Simpson because his name is e...
25/01/2024

Archibald Simpson, our famed local architect!

Many Aberdonians are familiar with Archibald Simpson because his name is emblazoned on Castle Street’s corner pub. However the man himself is responsible for the Granite City’s character! Having designed many of the buildings we walk by every day.

Archibald Simpson was born in Guestrow on 4th May 1790 and attended Aberdeen Grammar School (where he was friendly with the famous Lord Byron!). Simpson travelled to London with £200 of his father’s legacy to be an apprentice to architects Robert Lugar and David Laing. He embarked on a study tour of Italy, before returning to Aberdeen to design the city we know today. Despite losing his entire archive of drawings in a fire, Archibald Simpson created the Music Hall, Haddo House, The Triple Kirks, Royal Infirmary, Athenaeum Suites (Castlegate’s BrewDog!) and so, so many more.

This memorial stands in the raised garden of Bon Accord Square, and looks simply glorious in the sparkly frost. ✨

Join a free walking tour of Aberdeen to discover more about this fine gentleman and the buildings he designed.

🥾 Aberdeen City Centre Walking Tour
📍 Mercat Cross, Castlegate
🔎 Saturday, 1pm
⚖️ FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

Old Aberdeen’s St Machar’s Cathedral ⚖️This cathedral is named after its founder, a legendary disciple of Columba: St Ma...
19/01/2024

Old Aberdeen’s St Machar’s Cathedral ⚖️

This cathedral is named after its founder, a legendary disciple of Columba: St Machar. Once upon a time Columba and his disciples made their way over to Scotland and settled on Iona to convert the Pagans to Christianity. St Machar was unpopular amongst his disciples as he could perform so many miracles, they thought he was showing off. He got on their nerves so much they even tried to poison him! So Columba set Machar with a mission: to build a church near to where a river crooks like a bishop’s staff.

St Machar trekked all the way from the Hebrides to the east coast until he found this spot just here. He built his church on the banks of the River Don - right where the river crooks like a bishop’s staff!

The cathedral you see today was built several centuries later and conceals many a brilliant story.

Join our Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen to learn about St Machar’s Cathedral and its many wonderful features, those that prayed here and even those that were made to repent in front of the congregation.

🥾 Great Scot: Free Walking Tour of Old Aberdeen
📍 The Old Townhouse, Old Aberdeen
🍂 Selected Sundays @ 1pm
✨ FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

We’re back! 🥾Scot Free Tours cordially invite you to our first walking tour of 2024 on Saturday 13th January at 1pm. We’...
11/01/2024

We’re back! 🥾

Scot Free Tours cordially invite you to our first walking tour of 2024 on Saturday 13th January at 1pm. We’ll be wandering the centuries old streets, roads, paths and braes as we regale stories of Aberdeen’s beginnings right up to the present day.

Join our Aberdeen City Centre Free Walking Tour to revel in stories of pirates, poets, paupers and princes. What will you discover?

Book a place on scotfreetours.com - or simply turn up!

🥾 Aberdeen City Centre Walking Tour
📍 Mercat Cross, Castlegate
🔎 Saturday, 1pm
⚖️ FREE (donations are welcome)
🔗 book your place today on scotfreetours.com

Address

Mercat Cross Castlegate
Aberdeen
AB115BB

Opening Hours

11am - 12:30pm

Telephone

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