Aberdeen can take a battering from the North Sea. But the Granite City is full of sparkle when the sun comes out, and, with its ancient university, it always has cloisters-and-cobbles chic, writes LORRAINE COURTNEY
THE GRAMPIAN countryside is all sweeping, dramatic landscapes. But on this early-summer evening a moody mist has descended and obliterated everything until we reach the bright glow of Fyvie Castle’s lights. The oldest parts of Fyvie date from the 13th century; five successive families transformed the keep into one of the finest examples of Scottish baronial architecture.
Of course, there’s a curse. The 13th-century prophet Thomas the Rhymer, who predicted the Battle of Bannockburn, said there would come a time when no eldest son of Fyvie would succeed to the estate. It all came horribly true when one after another of the Forbes-Leith heirs fell victim to wars or accidental death.
There’s also the obligatory ghost. The story goes that the wife of a laird, having failed to produce an heir, was locked in a room and starved to death, while her husband married her niece. On their wedding night she appeared to the couple, and next morning they woke to find she had scratched her name into the outer window sill of the third-floor bedchamber. She supposedly still stalks the castle’s corridors.
Robert Lovie of the National Trust for Scotland seems like a relatively sound and sensible Aberdonian who nevertheless offers evidence of her presence. He occupies a castle apartment and tells tales of his stereo switching itself off, of cupboard doors inexplicably slamming shut and of getting the distinctive smell of her rose perfume along a passageway.
Standing by the grand fireplace in the Gordon Tower’s drawing room, Lovie launches into a rousing rendition of The Bonnie Lass o’ Fyvie. The last time he sang about the unrequited love of a captain of Irish dragoons for a beautiful girl in “Fyvie-o” was for Prince Charles’s birthday celebrations in the castle.
The “toon o’ Aiberdeen” is something of a powerhouse, fuelled by the North Sea petroleum industry. It has had a turbulent history. Vikings invaded in the Middle Ages, and Aberdeen did not escape the Baroque-era battles that culminated in Scotland’s union with England.
It is known as the Granite City, as most of it was carved from grey rock hewn from the now abandoned Rubislaw Quarry, at one time Europe’s biggest man-made hole in the ground.
Aberdeen is very much a tale of two cities. The New Town has some fine Regency town planning but had an unfortunate 1970s. The Old Town is wonderful. On a sunny day the granite lends an eye-catching glitter to the city, but when dreary storm clouds scud in off the North Sea it can be the quintessence of grey. Hugh MacDiarmid was not the first famous writer, nor the last, to snipe at its glumness. Others, such as Iain Crichton Smith, who described it as “glittering and transient”, saw the silver in the grey.
Silver: An Aberdeen Anthology, a book launched at Aberdeen University’s Word 09 literary festival, captures the diverse range of perspectives on the city. Thomas Hardy felt it had “the imposing beauty of a queen”. George Mackay Brown wrote of being struck by the hard, callous “torrent of faces” on the Aberdonian streets. But he warmed to it eventually and decided to stay on.
Aberdeen’s first university, King’s College, was established in 1495 by Bishop William Elphinstone to attend to the educational needs of Scots in an area “separated from the rest . . . in which dwell men rude and ignorant of letters and almost barbarous”. It was built on the principles of High Renaissance art. The malign north winds are shut out by the chapel, and the sundial offers further protection. It’s the epitome of cloisters-and-cobbles chic, presided over by crenellated turrets and ornate spires. The chapel contains a superb oak-carved screen and choir stalls, and the building is surmounted by a glorious stone crown.
Opposite King’s College, on High Street, are the old houses of university dons and the landed gentry, interspersed with bookshops and watering holes. It’s a source of constant delight, a wonderful mixture of antiquated and modern, busy with scholars scurrying along in hot pursuit of learning. Two years from now the university’s new library is due to open. Designers have turned out a glittering seven-storey fluted cube with an asymmetrical central atrium that is pegged at a jaw-dropping €67 million.
At first hearing, the Doric, as the local dialect is known, may seem impenetrable. The Aberdonian wey o’ spikkin is pretty unusual. Most interrogative words are rendered with an F, so that “when” becomes “fan”, “what” becomes “fit”, “who” becomes “fa” and “how” becomes “foo”.
What is perhaps most striking about the Doric, who beauty was captured in literary form by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, is its durability; it survives as one of the dominant conversational registers, and writers such as Stanley Robertson and Sheena Blackhall still work in the language. Little wonder that this full- bodied, expressive place inspires fierce reactions.
** Lorraine Courtney was a guest of Word 09 ( www.abdn.ac.uk/word)
Go there
Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Aberdeen from Dublin. Stena Line (www. stenaline.ie) sails from Belfast to Stranraer. P&O Irish Sea (www.poirishsea. com) sails from Larne to Cairnryan and Troon.
5 places to stay
Carmelite. 7 Stirling Street, 00-44-1224-589101, www.carmelitehotels.com. An antique revolving door leads into the lounge area, the lobby has complimentary newspapers and the hotel serves dishes made using local produce. Nightly rates start at £41pps (€49pps).
Malmaison. 49-53 Queens Road, 00-44-1224-327370, www.malmaisonaberdeen.com. Wow-factor suites, delicious fine dining, dangerously good cocktails and an exclusive whisky snug. BB from £59pps (€69pps).
The Marcliffe. North Deeside Road, 00-44-1224-861000, www.marcliffe.com. Hotel set in four hectares of wooded grounds, with chefs who specialise in Grampian produce, plus a bar stocked with more than 100 malt whiskies. Golf, salmon fishing, stalking and grouse or pheasant shooting can all be arranged. Doubles from £215 (€255).
The Mariner Hotel. 349 Great Western Road, 00-44- 1224-588901, www.themariner hotel.co.uk. Cosy hotel in Aberdeen’s pretty west end. Rates from £70 (€83).
Skene House Rosemount. 96 Rosemount Viaduct, 00-44- 1224-645971, www.skene- house.co.uk. One of three Skene House hotels in the town, all set in former tenement blocks. Each room has a kitchen and living room – basically an apartment run like a hotel. Suites from £68 (€80) per night.
5 places to eat
The Ashvale. 44 Great Western Road, 00-44-1224- 596981, www.theashvale.co.uk. Flagship branch of a chain of fish-and-chip shops selling the haggis pouch supper – a large haggis deep fried and served with chips. If you have any room left, you can try a deep-fried Mars bar. Eat in and take away.
Cafe 52. 52 The Green, 00-44-1224-590094, www.cafe52.net. Main courses include rabbit and pear sausages, feta in foil, and the delectable fruit mash, prepared with mashed potato mixed with whatever fruit happens to be in the kitchen. Delicious.
The Olive Tree Restaurant. 32 Queens Road, 00-44-1224- 208877, www.olive-tree.co.uk. Perfectly delivered dishes with a Mediterranean bias and the occasional contemporary twist.
Red Garth Hotel. Kirk Brae, Old Meldrum, Inverurie, 00-44-1651-872353, www.redgarth.com. Built as a house in 1928 by a local baker, this inn, which also lets out rooms, serves the most delicious Grampian game pie.
Silver Darling. Pocra Quay, North Pier, 00-44-1224- 576229, www.silverdarling restaurant.co.uk. A superb seafood restaurant overlooking the entrance to Aberdeen harbour, beside the old pilot’s house. Most of the walls are glazed, so bracing sea views.
5 places to go
The Gordon Highlanders Museum. St Lukes, Viewfield Road, 00-44-1224-311200, www.gordonhighlanders.com. The chance to relive the compelling and dramatic story of one of the British army’s most famous regiments, described by Winston Churchill as the finest in the world. Exhibits include a Nazi flag from Hitler’s staff car; there is also a small cinema.
Provost Skene’s House. Guestrow (between Broad Street and Flourmill Lane), 00-44-1224-641086, www.aagm.co.uk. This turreted town house was occupied in the 17th century by Sir George Skene and, briefly, in 1746, by the duke of Cumberland. The tempera-painted ceiling, with its religious symbolism, dates from 1622. Look for the earnest-looking angels, the soldiers and St Peter with crowing cockerels.
Aberdeen Art Gallery. Schoolhill, 00-44-1224-523-700, www.aagm.co.uk. Set in a Victorian building with an exquisite marble and granite main hall. It has several works by Joan Eardley, who painted tempestuous oils of the North Sea and poignant portraits of slum children in the 1950s. Among the Pre-Raphaelite works, look out for the paintings of the Aberdeen artist William Dyce.
Aberdeen Beach is a spectacular sweep of clean, golden sand stretching between the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don. At one time it was a good old-fashioned British seaside resort, but cheap package holidays have lured holidaymakers from its somewhat chilly delights.
Glen Garioch Distillery. Old Meldrum, Inverurie, 00-44-1651-873450, www.glengarioch.co.uk. Getting to know the pleasures of a smoky glass of single-malt amber is key to understanding Scotland. Established in 1797, this distillery takes its name from the Valley of the Garioch, traditionally the finest barley-growing area in Scotland. The whisky guru Charlie MacLean describes the taste as “toffee-sweetness with some tannic dryness and a hint of smoke in the finish”. The visitor centre is open daily.
Where to shop
Union Street (named to commemorate the union of Britain and Ireland) is the city’s main thoroughfare, lined with solid Victorian granite buildings. Just off it, the Green is a cobbled square with a selection of small independent shops and trendy boutiques.
Hot spot
Belmont Street is where Aberdeen’s bright young things whoop it up after dark. If you’re after a wee dram, the Grill (213 Union Street, 00-44-1224- 573530, www.thegrillaberdeen. co.uk) serves more than 500 types of whisky.
Don’t miss
Word Writers Festival. Aberdeen University, 00-44- 1224-273874, www.abdn.ac.uk/ word. This event, held at the university’s magnificent King’s College campus every May, is based around international literary lights and, uniquely, some of the region’s finest Doric writers and storytellers. It’s an exciting yet intimate festival, with readings, screenings and music, as well as a children’s programme. Next year the festival celebrates its 10th anniversary; it will run from May 14th to 16th.