Next Tours

SATURDAY 20 JULY 2019: MINI TOURS DAY 

OLD ABERDEEN'S HISTORICAL SECRETS 11AM

A zip through Old Aberdeen's history comparing the 20th century and medieval quadrangles, hearing the stories of Elphinstone Hall, New Kings and Kings College; visit the hidden remains of the Snow Kirk and the tales attached to the Powis estate represented today by the impressive gates which replicated the former towers in the old quad.

MEET: Outside Elphinstone Hall, Kings Lawn, Old Aberdeen, AB24 3SW (MAP)
ENDS: Kings Quad
Starts: 11am
Duration: Approx. 1 hour
TICKETS: £5 all tickets; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow

FITTIE: ABERDEEN'S PLANNED FISHER VILLAGE 2PM

Beginning on Pocra Quay near the site of the original Block House, a stone fort first erected in the 15th century to protect the city from "English invaders", we follow the fall and rise of the fisher residents of the Kirktoun of Futty, who forced the council into providing them a new home when harbour development threatened to obliterate the old village of Pockraw in the late 18th century. Featuring the picturesque Fisher Squares, designed by city architect, John Smith aka "Tudor Johnny", who also designed the new St Clements' Kirk in 1828. 

MEET: Footdee War Memorial, Pocra Quay, AB11 5DQ (MAP)
STARTS: 2pm 
ENDS: Roundhouse, Pocra Quay
DURATION: 1hr approx
TICKETS: £5 all tickets; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow

MONDAY 22 JULY 2019: 
ABERDEEN'S BLITZ - REMEMBERING 21 APRIL 1943

Aberdeen was nicknamed "Siren City" during WW2 after a terrible raid in the Spring of 1943 in which 130 bombs were dropped by the Luftwaffe in one hour. This tour follows the route of the bombers and looks at the devastation caused through archive photos of the sites and reminiscences of the time.  Starting outside the old Kittybrewster Railway Station - now the council depot opposite Belmont Rd - we walk a path through the residential streets of Bedford and Elmbank, by St Stephen's Church which was badly damaged, and through the centre of town taking in the industrial districts of Berryden and the Broadford Works, ending at Charlotte Street, where the only concrete air raid shelter to be hit was situated. A sometimes moving historical account of war-time Aberdeen.

Wear sensible footwear.  Parking - either on Leslie Terrace/ Stafford Street or in the Depot car park after hours

MEET: Aberdeen City Council Environmental Depot, 38 Powis Terrace AB25 3RF (MAP)
ENDS: John Street nr Cooper's Bar
STARTS: 7.30pm (be there at least 10min before start)
DURATION: Approx 2.25hr
TICKETS: £10/8. Click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow 

WEDNESDAY 24 JULY 2019
LOST LOCHLANDS - GEORGE STREET & ENVIRONS

Beginning from the site of the old Loch of Aberdeen, we take a trip back in time to recall the shops, churches, schools, cinemas and public baths which were situated in this area.  Many folk will remember ‘The Rubber Shop’, Isaac Benzies, Maxwells, the City Cinema, Gallowgate Middle School with its ‘Pond’ – we hope to recreate those memories and reveal more about medieval George St and the Lochlands when the loch was still the main source of water for the city.  A circular walk beginning and ending at John Lewis', George Street. Suitable for wheelchair users. Total length 1.48 miles

MEET: John Lewis Store, George Street, AB25 1BW (MAP)
STARTS: 7.30pm 
DURATION: 2hrs approx
TICKETS: £10/8; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow 

MONDAY 29 JULY 2019 
BLOOD & GRANITE: THE MURDER HISTORY TOUR

SOLD OUT

TICKET HOLDERS MEET: Park Road Gate, Trinity Cemetery, Aberdeen AB24 5PA (MAP)
STARTS: 8pm (NOTE DIFFERENT TIME)  
DURATION: 2hrs approx

WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST: ST MARGARET'S GALA WEEK TOUR
GALLOWGATE: ABERDEEN'S BORDERLANDS - THE NORTH

A Special Run of this tour in conjunction with St Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Gallowgate as part of their Gala Week.

Continuing from its launch in 2018, first in a series of four, covering "Aberdeen's Borderlands". The Gallowgate represented the way to the city's Northern border, Mounthooly, as Aberdon was a separate burgh until 1891.

From its earliest origins as the first site of civic executions to the home of the city's earliest thread mill, Porthill, the Gallowgate has changed rapidly through time. An industrial area from earliest medieval times with the home of the Tannery near Broadgate, and later Soapy Ogston's; site of the Quakers' burying ground, often dug up by an less than supportive council; the home of "Mar's Castle", a curious building latterly used for the medical students to hold their earliest meetings of the Medico-Chirurgical Society; and the site of the famous Middle School, the first to have a swimming pool in the city. Gallowgate hides many secrets, we will attempt to reveal some on this tour.

MEET: Outside Marischal College, Main Entrance, Broad Street, AB10 1YS (MAP)
ENDS: Mounthooly Roundabout
STARTS:7.30pm
DURATION: 2hrs approx
TICKETS: £10/8; Click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland, Shiprow

SATURDAY 3 AUGUST: MINI TOURS DAY

OLD TORRY - THE LOST VILLAGES 12 noon

A mini-tour set in the historic royal burgh of Torry covering almost eight centuries of history in one hour!  starting at old St Fittic.k’s Kirk which was built in the 13th century, and following a direct line over the Balnagask Motte, down Baxter Street and into the site of the Victorian fisher village. Includes tales of the Davidsons, last lairds of Torry; the Dee Ferry Disaster and the medieval fisher villag

of Torry which disappeared in 1876 due to harbour.

Meet: Old St Fittick's Kirk, Greyhope Road/ St Fittick's Park, Torry AB11 8TP (MAP)
Ends: Sinclair Road, Torry
Duration: approx 60min
Tickets: £5 all tickets, click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow 

ROSEMOUNT MINI RAMBLE 3PM

Developed from the full length Rosemount Ramble, focusing on the hidden gem of Mackie Place, the 18th century cul-de-sac owned by hide-skinner, Robert Mackie, who commissioned the distinctive ogee-shaped "White House" and the remaining tenement of no's 4-5, and Jack's Brae, where there were industries galore, including Strachan's Mill, Paterson's Tannery and later the North of Scotland Bedding Company. There's the story of St John's Well, the main fresh water source for the inhabitants of Jack's Brae and Hardweird; George Dickie, the owner of Cherryvale, a long-lost mansion, who tried to block the owners of the White House/Galleries from overlooking his garden. Three hundred years of history in 60min!

Meet: The Cult of Coffee, 28 Esslemont Avenue, Rosemount, AB25 1SN (MAP)
Ends: Grammar School Gates
Duration: approx 60min
Tickets: £5 all tickets, click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow

MONDAY 5 AUGUST:
GALLUS QUINES - ABERDEEN'S PIONEERING WOMEN

A brand new indoor history talk featuring some of the city's sometimes forgotten pioneer women, like Hilda Wernham, co-founder of Aberdeen Cyrenians; Louisa Lumsden, champion for women's higher education; Rachel, Lady MacRobert, founder of the MacRobert Trust, following the death of all three sons in the RAF, Annie Pearson, Lady Cowdray, the patroness of the RCN and many more.

Join us in the cosy surroundings of the Cult of Coffee where you can buy coffee/tea/cakes to suit yourself. They have a great vegan selection too.  The evening is broken up into two sections, with a 20min interval. Suitable for young people of age 8 and above; venue is disability accessible.  Parking available in Leadside Road for free after 6pm or Grammar School car park.

Venue: The Cult of Coffee, 28 Esslemont Avenue, Rosemount, AB25 1SN (MAP)
Doors Open: 7pm
Event Start: 7.30pm
Duration: approx hr
Tickets: £10/8, click HERE to book online or book in person at the Visit Scotland hub on Shiprow

New dates will be added very soon!

Please note, if dates are not shown it means there are no tours planned yet for those dates or they are free for private bookings.  

Please Read On !

News

Reminiscence Talks - Aberdeen Lang Syne at Mark Bush Court

We are going to be delivering the full series of our reminscence talks starting in November at local council sheltered housing complex, Mark Bush Court in Kincorth.  The residents have a very busy social calendar and are always on the look out for interesting visitors.  Dr Fiona-Jane Brown, our director will be presenting the talks including "Lost Shops", "Lost Cinemas", "The Blitz", "A Virtual Pub Crawl of Aberdeen", "Dancehalls and Ballrooms", "Trams, Buses and Trains", and "Sneezes, Wheezes and Diseases", the potted history of our local medical services.  

Residents pay a small fee to cover their entertainments, but anyone willing to sponsor these sessions to allow them to build up their event kitty would be most welcome! 

Our newly updated listing with VISIT ABERDEENSHIRE is now live.  Our friends at this local tourism promotion agency have been snowed under with updates to their business pages, so if you've recently visited it and found obsolete information, it's now been fixed! Click HERE to view and let us know if you spot any errors in future! 

Our Publications

Dr Fiona-Jane Brown, director of Hidden Aberdeen Tours has published three books on local history in the city and shire.  

BACK IN PRINT AFTER AN 18 MONTH ABSENCE!! 

Publishers, Black & White of Edinburgh have finally been able to bring back this very popular original local history book which was inspired by the walking tours and Dr Fiona-Jane Brown's blog which was hosted by STV Aberdeen way back in 2012! Due back in bookshops by mid-June 2017!

Aberdeen is rich in history, much of it hidden. Now, in Hidden Aberdeen, Dr Fiona-Jane Brown explores the city through new eyes, revealing new stories from the past and bringing the modern city to life. There's the last resting place of Robert Hitchens, who was at the wheel of the Titanic when it struck an iceberg; Royal connections including the Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart's visit to local ship owner, Skipper Scott, when he discovered from his commander, the Earl of Mar, that all was not well with the Jacobite Army; the brutal murder of a monk by so-called reformers and the strange nineteenth-century animal cruelty case against the city's Jewish community. There's also the city's intriguing connection with Millwall FC and the place where medieval criminals were hanged. This fascinating book will open your eyes to the hidden, the forgotten and the abandoned which lie under your feet as you walk round the city today.

Hidden Aberdeen: History on your Doorstep and Under Your Feet is the first local history publication from Dr Fiona-Jane Brown, founder of Hidden Aberdeen Tours.

 < Click to purchase from Amazon

Following on from the bestselling Hidden Aberdeen, Fiona-Jane Brown now presents a brand new volume, Hidden Aberdeenshire: The Coast, exploring the rich history and the most fascinating, quirky stories from the windswept lands beside the North Sea.

There's the story of James Keith, brother of the 10th Earl or Marischal, whose statue stands in Peterhead - but few know why; Captain Gray's House, where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle took up a post as ship's surgeon on a whaler owned by one of the most successful whaling captains of the nineteenth century; the tale of the Frasers, the family who lost their castle and generations later reclaimed it; the mystery of the university that never was; plus many more.

Hidden Aberdeenshire: The Coast is a fascinating and entertaining collection of forgotten history and anecdotes from Scotland's North-East, pieced together by historian Dr Fiona-Jane Brown.

 < Click to purchase from Amazon

Following on from Hidden Aberdeenshire: The Coast, this new volume moves inland to tell the stories of the countryside, from the fertile farmland of Buchan to the high peaks of the Cairngorm Mountains.

Visit Macbeth's reputed grave at Lumphanan, where he was supposedly buried by his supporters after being killed by Malcolm Canmore, later Malcolm III of Scotland; meet the Maiden Stone's forgotten companion, the larger-than-life Persephone sculpture, near the foot of Bennachie and learn the significance of the Kintore Arms Public House to a terrible murder back in 1863.

Come and visit the two most fascinating burials in Braemar cemetery, of poor crofter, Peter Grant who fought at Culloden and outlived Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the Black Colonel, John Farquharson of lnverey, who made his "bed" in the rocks above his castle, but did not lie peaceful in his grave after death.

Learn about Trooper Smart of Kintore who died in South Africa as a result of a lion attack; the hidden stone circle discovered in Methlick Wood by a local dowser and Wormy Hillock, an early site of Pagan worship near Rhynie.

Join historian and guide Dr Fiona-Jane Brown for these and many more quirky, forgotten and hidden tales, this time from Aberdeenshire's landward districts.

 < Click to purchase from Amazon

Hidden Aberdeen Tours (founded 2011) is wholly owned by Dr Fiona-Jane Brown as a sole-trading operation which occasionally works with contractors.

Contact details

Phone: 07572 582198
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