The history of Aberdeenshire

Far-flung? Not a bit of it. Until some 8,500 years ago, northeast Scotland was still connected to continental Europe by way of Doggerland, a land bridge stretching across what is now the North Sea. Evidence of early hunter-gatherers still remains, and by the time of the Bronze Age – with water levels long since having risen – settlers were leaving behind cairns and stone circles. Later, the Picts and the Romans were both present here, as were Celtic monasteries. The city grew to become an important one, thriving on the back of the 19th-century fishing and shipbuilding industries, and using local granite to create a series of imposing municipal buildings, a legacy that still stands today. An 1848 visit by Queen Victoria to the riverside lands west of Aberdeen, meanwhile, saw the emergence of the name Royal Deeside. In later decades, Aberdeen’s North Sea location saw oil, gas and renewable energies become the city’s leading industries, bringing considerable prosperity in their wake, despite the market decline of recent years.

FolkloreThe Cannibal LairdFolkloreThe Laird of Udny’s FoolFolkloreThrummy CapA Devastating Aberdeenshire FeudThe Red Battle of HarlawFolkloreThe Weeping Stones of Fyvie CastleThe Burning of Corgarff CastleFolkloreCraigievar Castle’s Naked GhostFolkloreThe Green Lady Of Crathes CastleHistoryBraemar CastleHistoryThe Last Soutar’s Shop: Preserving a Forgotten Piece of Rural ScotlandHistoryFrom Painted Ceilings to Walled Gardens: A Day at Crathes CastleHistoryHow Dunnottar Castle Hid the Honours of ScotlandHistoryAberdeenshire's Most HauntedHistoryDiscover the Nooks and Crannies of Aberdeen and ShireHistoryAberdeenshire’s Great EscapesHistoryWilliam Wallace and the siege of Dunnottar CastleHistoryThe Two Lady Ghosts of Crathes CastleHistoryThe History of the Royal Deeside Railway LineHistoryThings to do in Royal DeesideHistoryAberdeenshire CastlesHistoryGight Castle’s Deadly LegendsHistoryDefending Kildrummy CastleHistoryA Royal Inspired Tour of Aberdeenshire