Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St Machar's Cathedral
The Chanonry • Daily: April-Oct 9.30am-4.30pm; Nov-March 10am-4pm • Free •
T
01224 485988
From King's College, High Street leads a short way north to
St Machar's Cathedral
on
the leafy Chanonry, overlooking Seaton Park and the River Don. he site was reputedly
founded in 580 AD by Machar, a follower of Columba, when he was sent by the latter
to find a grassy platform near the sea, overlooking a river shaped like the crook on a
bishop's crozier. his setting fitted the bill perfectly, and the cathedral, a huge fifteenth-
century fortified building, became one of the city's first great granite edifices. Inside,
the stained-glass windows are a dazzling blaze of colour, and the heraldic oak ceiling
above the nave dates from 1520 and shows nearly fifty different coats of arms from
Europe's royal houses and Scotland's bishops and nobles.
10
Seaton Park
A wander through Seaton Park, immediately to the north of St Machar's Cathedral,
brings you to the thirteenth-century
Brig o'Balgownie
, which gracefully spans the River
Don nearly a mile north of the cathedral. he bridge is best visited at sunset; Byron,
who spent much of his childhood in Aberdeen, remembered it as a favourite place.
The beach
To reach the beach, hop aboard bus #15 from Union Street; to reach the golf links take buses #9 and #13
Aberdeen can surely claim to have the best sandy
beach
of all Britain's large cities. Less
than a mile east of Union Street is a great two-mile sweep of clean sand, broken by
groynes and lined all along with an esplanade. Further north, most of the beach's
hinterland is devoted to golf links.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
ABERDEEN
45min); Glasgow (hourly; 2hr 35min); Inverness (up to 11
daily; 2hr 20min); Inverurie (roughly hourly; 25min); London
(3 daily, 1 nightly sleeper service; 7hr, sleeper service 10hr);
Montrose (every 30min; 40min); Nairn (up to 11 daily; 1hr
50min); Stonehaven (every 30min; 15min).
BY PLANE
Aberdeen Airport
(
W
aberdeenairport.com,
T
08444
816666), seven miles northwest of town, is served by
flights from more than fifty UK and European destinations.
First Aberdeen bus #27 (£2.50 single;
T
01224 650000)
and Stagecoach Bluebird bus #727 (£2.70 single;
T
01224
597590) run to the city centre from the airport; a taxi costs
around £20.
Destinations
Belfast (1 daily, 1hr 10min); Birmingham
(Mon-Fri 3 daily, Sat & Sun 1-2 daily; 1hr 30min); Bristol
(Mon-Fri & Sun 1-2 daily; 1hr 25min); East Midlands (Mon-
Fri 2-3 daily; 1hr 25min); Kirkwall, Orkney (Mon-Fri 3 daily,
Sat 2 daily; 50min); London Gatwick (Mon-Fri 2 daily, 1 on
Sat ; 1hr 40min); London Heathrow (Mon-Sat up to 12 daily;
1hr 30min); London Luton (Mon-Sat 1 daily; 1hr 25min);
Manchester (Mon-Fri up to 8 daily, Sat 2 daily; 1hr 20min);
Newcastle (Mon-Fri up to 6 daily, Sun 1 daily; 55min);
Norwich (Mon-Fri 5 daily, Sat-Sun 1-2 daily); Stornoway
(Mon-Fri 1 daily, 55min); Wick (Mon-Fri 2-3 daily; 35min).
BY BUS
The bus terminal is right beside the train station. For
information on local and intercity bus times, call
Traveline Scotland on
T
08712 002233 or visit
W
travelinescotland.com.
Destinations
Ballater (hourly; 1hr 45min); Banchory (1-3
hourly; 55min); Banff (every 30min; 1hr 55min); Braemar
(roughly every 2hr; 2hr 5min); Crathie, for Balmoral
(roughly every 2 hours; 1hr 55min); Cullen (hourly; 2hr
30min); Dundee (hourly; 2hr 20min); Elgin (hourly; 2hr
25min); Forres (hourly; 2hr 55min); Fraserburgh (hourly;
1hr 30min); Inverurie (up to 5 per hour; 50min-1hr
20min); Macduff (hourly; 1hr 50min); Peterhead (every
30min; 1hr 15min); Stonehaven (every 15-30min; 35min).
BY TRAIN
The main train station is on Guild Street, in the centre of the
city. There are lockers here for left luggage, which cost
£2-4 for 24hrs.
Destinations
Arbroath (every 30min; 1hr); Dundee (every
30min; 1hr 15min); Edinburgh (roughly hourly; 2hr 25min);
Elgin (up to 11 daily; 1hr 30min); Forres (up to 11 daily; 1hr
BY CAR
Driving into Aberdeen is easy enough, but as many spaces
are designated for local permit-holders it can be tricky (and
expensive) to find somewhere central to park.
Car
rental
Arnold Clark, Girdleness Rd (
T
01224
238520
W
arnoldclark.com); Budget, Wellheads Drive
