Aberdeen Beach – a Dog Walk on the Sands and Brunch
A few hours.
The route
Aberdeen has two miles of golden sand curving from the harbour to the mouth of the Don, and it's a wonderful place to walk a dog.
Head north along the prom past the Beach Ballroom, then down onto the sand, where the city falls quiet behind the dunes. Come back for brunch or lunch at a cheerful little café on Beach Boulevard where dogs are made very welcome.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Aberdeen beach
It's a morning on foot by the sea. Stride out along the sand with the dog while the waves roll in, then settle in for a hearty brunch on Beach Boulevard.
About two and a half hours
Aberdeen Beach
An attraction
The walk runs north along the prom from the foot of Beach Boulevard, past the Beach Ballroom, to steps just north of it that lead down onto the sand. The sand from the foot of Beach Boulevard to just beyond the Ballroom, between groynes 6 and 13, is a council dog exclusion zone, so the dog stays up on the prom until then; beyond it the beach is the dog's. The further north, the quieter it grows, with dunes and golf links beyond the prom. It's there and back, as far as you like: the mouth of the Don is about a mile and a quarter north, and half an hour out is plenty for most dogs. Keep the dog close where there are people, and pick up after it, as the council fines for fouling. At the Donmouth nature reserve dogs go on a lead, as seals haul out on the sandbanks there and the estuary sands can be soft underfoot. Bottlenose dolphins are often seen off the harbour mouth, at the beach's southern end, so keep an eye on the sea.
17 min on foot
Cafe Ahoy
Lunch
From the steps it's 17 minutes' walk back along the prom and up Beach Boulevard to Cafe Ahoy, a dog-friendly café with a sunny terrace, for brunch or lunch: pancakes, eggs on avocado toast, sandwiches and milkshakes. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 8.30am to 3.30pm, and all dogs are welcome with a well-behaved owner. If it's shut on a Monday or Tuesday, its sister café the Pier on the esplanade serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week.
If it rains
The beach has no shelter, so on a wet morning keep the walk short along the esplanade and go early to Cafe Ahoy, where dogs are welcome.
