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A tall old tree in full summer leaf in the woodland of Aden Country Park.
Aberdeenshire

Aden Country Park

Woodland, a lake and a Victorian arboretum round a half-moon steading in the middle of Buchan.

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Welcome

Aden, said Aa-den, is a 230-acre country park on the edge of Mintlaw, in the middle of Buchan, and year after year it wins a Green Flag, the award given to the best green spaces in the country.

The paths run through mature woodland, round a lake where children come to feed the ducks, and through a Victorian arboretum of tall old trees.

At the centre is a curved farm steading of around 1800, a half-moon of buildings that now holds the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, a café and a craft shop. There is an exhibition on the Book of Deer, the Gospel book tied to the abbey just west of the park, as well as an orienteering course and a play park. Through the year the lawns fill for a pipe band contest, a vintage tractor day, Wild About Aden and the Halloween and Christmas events. There is a caravan and camping site for anyone who wants to stay.

Round the cornerAberdeenshire Farming MuseumA hundred and fifty years of north-east farming, told inside a steading of around 1800.1 min by roadSee itA costumed figure in a red gingham shawl and black bonnet among the displays of the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum.
Before you go

The park is open all year.

The café, craft shop and farming museum are in the central steading, with parking, toilets and a caravan and camping site.

Where
Mintlaw, Buchan.
Open
All year.
On site
Café, craft shop, farming museum, play park.
Where it is

Mintlaw.

Close byAround Mintlaw.
  1. The recumbent and standing stones of Aikey Brae Stone Circle in a clearing among dark pines.Aikey Brae Stone CircleThe most complete recumbent stone circle in the north of Aberdeenshire, with a 21.5-tonne recumbent stone.3 miles10 min by road
  2. The granite Station Hotel at Maud on a corner of the village.Maud Railway MuseumThe old junction station of the Buchan line, now a small railway museum on a cycle path.5 miles11 min by road
  3. The blue front of Strichen Antiques under its sign.Strichen AntiquesTwo stores of the weird and wonderful in a Buchan village: curios, jewellery, salvage and taxidermy.8 miles16 min by road
  4. Two donkeys looking over the fence at Waulkmill Menagerie.Waulkmill MenagerieA small farm menagerie near New Deer where visitors spend an hour as the keeper's helper.8 miles17 min by road
  5. The bronze of Fisher Jessie with a child at her side on Marischal Street, Peterhead.Fisher JessieAndy Scott's bronze in Peterhead to the women of the fishing towns.10 miles22 min by road
Directions
A costumed figure in a red gingham shawl and black bonnet among the displays of the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum.AttractionsAberdeenshire Farming MuseumA step away
A cell hall in Peterhead Prison, galleries rising to the roof above a table-tennis table.AttractionsPeterhead Prison Museum11 miles
Konik ponies at the water's edge on the Strathbeg marshes, their reflections below them.AttractionsRSPB Loch of Strathbeg12 miles
The broken gable of Boddam Castle, a window open to the sky, on its rocky point above the sea.WalksBoddam Castle and Stirling Hill13 miles
White lighthouse on a stone base rising from open seaAttractionsRattray Head14 miles
Jagged sea cliffs and stacks along a rugged coastline with farmland aboveAttractionsBullers of Buchan15 miles
A wood-burning stove set into an old stone wall at the Kilmarnock Arms.BarsThe Kilmarnock Arms17 miles
Aerial view of a coastal links golf course with rolling fairways and dunesAttractionsCruden Bay Golf Club17 miles
Tables on the terrace at Harbour Dunes looking over Port Erroll and the bay.CafeHarbour Dunes Café17 miles
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