Old Aberdeen – an Evening Stroll and the St Machar Bar
A few hours, from Aberdeen station and back.
The route
Old Aberdeen feels like a little town of its own at the north end of the city, all cobbles, granite cottages and college towers, and it's lovely to wander on a light evening.
This stroll runs past King's College and St Machar's Cathedral, down through Seaton Park to the Brig o' Balgownie, said to be the oldest bridge still standing in Scotland, and back to the St Machar Bar for a pint. It's an easy evening, with a bus from the city centre at either end.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Old Aberdeen
An easy evening on foot through the cobbled lanes of Old Aberdeen and the trees of Seaton Park. The walk turns at a bridge over the Don that has stood for seven centuries, and ends with a drink in a small, traditional pub.
About three hours
Old Aberdeen
An attraction
Take the number 20 bus from Guild Street, beside the station, or the 1, 1A, 1B or 2 along Union Street and King Street, and get off at King's College (check the times). The college was founded in 1495, and its chapel's stone crown tower rises over the cobbles of the High Street. Walk north up the High Street and along the Chanonry, a quiet lane of high garden walls, about 9 minutes, to St Machar's Cathedral and its twin granite spires. Seaton Park's paths beyond have no street lights, so walk them in daylight: from April to September there's light well into the evening, and in winter it's nicer to stay on the cobbles and go straight to the pub.
About 31 min on foot
Brig o' Balgownie
An attraction
From the cathedral, follow the paths down through Seaton Park and along the River Don, about 20 minutes, to the Brig o' Balgownie. Its single pointed arch was finished around 1320, and it's said to be the oldest bridge still standing in Scotland; for five centuries it carried the road north out of Aberdeen. Walk out onto its cobbled hump for the view down the river.
About 22 min on foot
St Machar Bar
A drink
From the bridge it's about 22 minutes back through Old Aberdeen to the St Machar Bar on the High Street, almost opposite King's College. It's a small, traditional pub with cask ales on the bar, a good choice of whisky, darts, a patio out the back and dogs welcome. It serves food from noon until 9pm every day, and stays open until midnight Monday to Saturday and 11pm on Sunday. The number 20 stops close by for the ride back into town.
If it rains
In rain the park paths by the Don get slippery: walk the High Street and the Chanonry to St Machar's and back, and settle into the St Machar Bar.
St Machar Bar, a restaurant in Aberdeen.