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Inside the Kirk of St Nicholas, the long nave and galleries lit warm, the organ at the far end.
Aberdeen

Kirk of St Nicholas

Aberdeen's Mither Kirk in the city centre, a church founded in the 12th century and rebuilt by Gibbs and Simpson, with the largest carillon of bells in Britain.

Welcome

Behind an arched gateway off Union Street, a green kirkyard opens out around a great church with a tall spire.

This is the Kirk of St Nicholas, the Mither Kirk of Aberdeen, founded in the twelfth century when the town was young, and for centuries the heart of its life.

What stands now was largely rebuilt in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: the west end in 1755 to a design by James Gibbs, the east end in 1837 by Archibald Simpson, Aberdeen's own great architect. Parts of the medieval church survive within, among them the fifteenth-century St Mary's Chapel, and there is a chapel dedicated to the oil industry. High in the tower hangs a carillon of forty-eight bells, the largest in Britain.

The church is closed to visitors for now while new owners plan its future, but it opens on special days such as Doors Open Day, and the old kirkyard, full of carved stones, is a peaceful place to walk in the middle of the city.

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The Daily for 1 November, from Scotland with love. A misty lane runs past slate-roofed cottages toward a wooded hillside.
Round the cornerMai's Vietnamese KitchenA Vietnamese restaurant on Back Wynd in Aberdeen, cooking the food of Hanoi, from 24-hour beef pho to bun cha, and bring your own bottle.Under a mileSee itA bowl of beef pho at Mai's Vietnamese Kitchen, with sliced beef, a beef ball, spring onions and herbs in clear broth, the restaurant's name on the bowl.
Before you go

The kirkyard can be walked in the daytime; the church itself is closed to visitors for now and opens on special days such as Doors Open Day.

Where
Back Wynd, off Union Street.
Founded
12th century.
Carillon
48 bells.

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Where it is

In the centre of Aberdeen between Union Street and Schoolhill, entered through the arched gateway from Union Street or from Back Wynd, AB10 1JZ.

Close byAberdeen.
  1. The granite front of Cup on Little Belmont Street, with hanging baskets and window boxes of flowers.Cup Tea SalonA tea room on cobbled Little Belmont Street in Aberdeen, for loose teas, brunch and afternoon tea.Under a mile as the crow flies
  2. The long bar at Casa del Fuego under a red wall and a neon sign reading Viva la Fiesta, with high stools and tables on a patterned tiled floor.Casa del FuegoUnder a mile as the crow flies
  3. Aberdeen Art GalleryAberdeen Art GalleryArt on Schoolhill.Under a mile 2 min by road
  4. Juniper shop front beside a stone church with a rose windowBelmont StreetCafés on the cobbles next door.Under a mile 2 min by road
  5. Aberdeen's Mercat Cross stands beneath storm clouds with birds circling above the Town House towersCrime and Punishment TourThe dark-history walk through its kirkyard.Under a mile 4 min by road
Directions
A bowl of beef pho at Mai's Vietnamese Kitchen, with sliced beef, a beef ball, spring onions and herbs in clear broth, the restaurant's name on the bowl.RestaurantsMai's Vietnamese KitchenA step away
Kultura's front on Belmont Street, its wooden sign reading Filipino Restaurant & Bar above open doors in a granite wall, with potted bay trees by the step.RestaurantsKulturaA step away
Plates of seafood at Bistro Verde seen from above on a wooden table: langoustines with salad, scallops, smoked salmon bites and a bowl of fries.RestaurantsBistro VerdeA step away
The upstairs room at Wild Goose, all pale wood, with globe lights and trailing plants hanging from the ceiling, wooden tables and a counter at the far end.RestaurantsWild GooseA step away
The glass pavilion of Common Sense Coffee House and Bar on the terrace above Union Terrace Gardens, with tables outside.CafeCommon Sense Coffee House0.2 miles
Three cocktails on a wooden table in a dimly lit restaurantRestaurantsChop Grill & Bar0.2 miles
The dining room of Tarragon on the Terrace, with velvet chairs, marble-topped tables and a leather banquette, and tall windows looking out to the trees of Union Terrace Gardens.RestaurantsTarragon on the Terrace0.2 miles
The granite front of the Craftsman Company on the corner of Guild Street, its door open and its name in the windows.CafeThe Craftsman Company0.2 miles
The bar at Glenhouse, lit in amber under a wall of bottles, with red leather stools and a round marble table.RestaurantsGlenhouse0.2 miles

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