Aberdeenshire Guide

Aberdeenshire has a rich prehistoric and historic heritage. It is the locus of a large number of Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites. Since medieval times there have been a number of crossings of the Mounth (a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven) through present day Aberdeenshire from the Scottish Lowlands to the Highlands. Some of the most well known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth and Elsick Mounth.

Some facts about Aberdeenshire:

• Aberdeenshire has more castles per acre than any other part of the UK- 70 castles in total.

• More hoards of medieval coins have been found in Aberdeenshire than anywhere else in the UK. It is thought that this is because rich medieval Aberdonians buried their coins for safekeeping.

• The former American president Gerald Ford once nearly drowned when he fell into the River Dee while salmon fishing some years ago.

• Aberdeenshire is one of the best places in the world to see the "Northern lights". The natural coloured light display typical of the polar zone can be seen between September and October, and March and April.

• Scottish history has it that the warrior Macbeth was slain in battle at Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire.

• The game known as water polo was first played in the River Dee in 1863, the players used a pig's bladder as a ball.

• Robert Louis Stevenson (the Author) was on holiday in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, in 1881, when he painted a picture of an imaginary island to entertain his stepson. Suddenly, the island became alive in his imagination, and he started writing the famous story "Treasure Island ".

Here are just some places to visit in and around Aberdeenshire: