Next Tours

ROSEMOUNT MINI RAMBLE
THURSDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 

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!  More details HERE.

MEET: The Cult of Coffee, 28 Esslemont Ave (MAP) (most excellent cakes!)
STARTS: 2pm
DURATION: Approx 1hr
TICKETS: Click HERE to buy online or in person at Visit Scotland's iCentre, Shiprow

GALLOWGATE: ABERDEEN'S NORTHERN BORDERLAND
SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2018

Gallowgate is first mentioned in 1350, making it one of our oldest streets. The road to the early medieval gallows which stood on the highest point of the city, Gallowgate was the old road north to Aberdon and the Brig o' Balgownie.  Not one single building from those early times survives, but this tour aims to bring them back into focus including the Porthill Factory, McKinnon's Ironworks, Mar's Castle, the Middle School and the medieval tannery. Also, the mystery of Broadgait's origins as an extension of this ancient northern borderland. Further details are here.

MEET: Front of Aberdeen College (NESCol), Gallowgate (MAP) 
STARTS: 2pm
DURATION: Approx 2hr
TICKETS: Click HERE to buy online or in person at Visit Scotland's iCentre, Shiprow

LOST SHOPS OF ABERDEEN
INDOOR STORYTELLING SPECIAL - MONDAY 08 OCTOBER 2018

It's back! By popular demand, yours truly, Hidden Aberdeen director, Dr Fiona-Jane Brown, will be presenting a night of stories about Aberdeen's favourite shops now lost to history but still beloved in the memories of our citizens. 

Find out the origins of "Raggie" Morrisons, C&A's, Woolies, and of course, the Rubber Shop! With plenty of images to remind you of what shopping days were like a generation or two ago, and a special on the King of Junk, Thomas "Cocky" Hunter, Aberdeen's most famous general merchant.

This time we're hosted by what was the Imperial Hotel, now the Carmelite, we'll have a wee look back into their past too!

VENUE: Carmelite Hotel, Stirling Street, nr the Green, AB11 6JU (MAP) 
DOORS OPEN: 7pm 
STARTS: 7.30pm 
TICKETS: £10 each, click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland's iCentre, Shiprow

GALLUS GHOSTS & WHACKY WITCHES
INDOOR STORYTELLING SPECIAL - MONDAY 29 OCTOBER 2018

Children love a good ghost story! This is a family-friendly indoor Halloween storytelling night at our favourite mini-venue. Age 5 and up will enjoy traditional Scottish spooky stories (though not too scary) where sometimes the ghosts are nice and the witches aren't wicked.

Including:
Cauld Johnny o the Kirkyard
The Singing Ghost that Wasn't
When Mother defeated the Fairies
The Woodcarver
The Master of All Masters aka the Blacksmith and the De'il

Gorgeous cakes available to purchase with your tea / coffee
Prize for the best HOME MADE Halloween costume!

VENUE: The Cult of Coffee, 28 Esslemont Avenue (MAP) 
DOORS OPEN: 6.30pm 
STARTS: 7pm 
DURATION: 2 slots of 45min with interval
TICKETS: £10 adults, £8 concession, CHILDREN UNDER 10 FREE (but require a ticket)
click HERE to book online or in person at Visit Scotland's iCentre, Shiprow

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

TOLBOOTH TALES - 1 NOVEMBER 2018 
SOLD OUT

More 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

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! 

Company  Director, Dr Fiona-Jane Brown will be working with North East Sensory Services, an Aberdeen charity providing support for both deaf and blind people in Grampian.  She is recording her local history books for NESS' audio library; the latter has a large collection of audio books including fiction and non-fiction, but they were a bit short on local authors.  Following fellow Aberdeen author, Duncan Harley's recording from his bookThe A-Z of Curious Aberdeenshire, Dr Brown offered to contribute Hidden Aberdeen: History on Your Doorstep and Under Your Feet, and the two Hidden Aberdeenshire volumes.  She hopes to record some folk tales and Doric pieces for use on NESS' monthly audio newsletter Bon-a-talk.  Membership of the library involves an annual fee, but borrowing is free.  Contact NESS for further details of their services. 

**UPDATE** Hidden Aberdeen, the first book has now been recorded, Hidden Aberdeenshire: the Coast is next to come!

Announcing two further reminiscence sessions at Alzheimer Scotland's Aberdeen resource centre in July and August.  Last year, Dr Fiona-Jane Brown, company director was involved with this excellent charity delivering talks on local history and kicking off memories with the visitors to the King St resource centre, with topics including The Blitz, Lost Cinemas, Lost Shops, Transport and Hospitals.  The funding kindly donated by CALA Homes, one of AS's local supporters, ensures that the last two scheduled sessions will be delivered this summer.  Anyone is welcome to the free sessions on 25 July and 22 August starting at 2pm.  After the talk and chat there's time for tea and more chat.  The topics this time are sure to be popular "Dancehalls & Ballrooms" and "A Virtual Pub Crawl of Aberdeen".  These will be released as a joint public talk later in the year. For directions to AS's Dementia Resource Centre, please check out their web site here.

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.

Business Postbox

21 York Place
Footdee
Aberdeen 
AB11 5DH 

Phone: 07572 582198
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.