South College Street Consultation

The Aberdeen City Council has a consultation open until the 19th January 2021 on proposed changes to South College Street. This work is part of a bigger project known as the Berryden Corridor which will see a dual carriageway built from north to south through the central city. I spent much of last weekend writing… Continue reading South College Street Consultation

An open letter to the Aberdeen City Council about South College Street

This past week I have felt very frustrated with the Aberdeen City Council after I read about their plans to spend £5.5 million adding another lane for private motor vehicles to a road in central Aberdeen. A bike path has not been included in these plans and the road in question is uninviting for pedestrians… Continue reading An open letter to the Aberdeen City Council about South College Street

How can I be an effective activist?

I'm so frustrated with the city council and their lack of action in building cycling infrastructure. We know that cycling infrastructure encourages people to ride their bikes and we know that when people ride their bikes there's less pollution, less traffic congestion, and less of a strain on the NHS because those people are engaging in physical… Continue reading How can I be an effective activist?

The beach in Aberdeen

We went to the beach today and I took some photos. Can you see all the ships on the horizon? The next photo is a building at Castlegate in Aberdeen. It's quite striking and is, I think, what is called an example of Scottish baronial architecture. It looks very Aberdonian to me and contains nothing exciting at all… Continue reading The beach in Aberdeen

In town without my car day

Today is "In town without my car day" and as big advocates of the pedestrianisation of city centre streets we thought we should go along and lend our support. They had closed off some streets to cars which was marvellous and put lots of fun activities in their place like a giant water slide, a… Continue reading In town without my car day

Fyvie Castle

My sister rang first thing this morning sounding very upset because she had slept in and missed her flight and was consequently unable to come and visit us this weekend. We were all very disappointed and so we took off for Fyvie Castle to lift our spirits. Fyvie Castle is an enormous 13th century castle about… Continue reading Fyvie Castle

Wee Jaunt Aberdeen

Buying a house seems to have sapped all the fun out of lives so we decided to do something to rectify the situation. This morning we participated in the Wee Jaunt Aberdeen, a Pedal for Scotland initiative to encourage cycling and raise money for a children's charity. They closed off several roads in a 6 mile route… Continue reading Wee Jaunt Aberdeen

More dramas and a bit of a rant

Yesterday afternoon the lady who lives downstairs knocked on our door to say water was leaking through her kitchen ceiling. Our kitchen is above her kitchen but there was no sign of any leak in our kitchen at all. I turned off all the water and the central heating as no-one was able to come until… Continue reading More dramas and a bit of a rant

Cycling infrastructure in Aberdeen

We went for quite a stressful bike ride today. It was supposed to be a pleasant afternoon cycling along a newly discovered bike path but traffic and a lack of suitable crossings for bicycles made it stressful. I took a photo of one of the crossings we made to point out how inadequate it is for bicycles.… Continue reading Cycling infrastructure in Aberdeen

British pubs

I've always liked British pubs for their atmosphere and uniqueness. They're not like big chain restaurants that are all the same. They're all different and often a bit quirky like the Slains Castle pub in Aberdeen. Lately we've been going to pubs for dinner more often. This is because I've just discovered how good they are for… Continue reading British pubs

Mediaeval battles at Drum Castle

We went to Drum Castle today. I have been itching to visit this castle again ever since our cycle ride from Banchory to Aberdeen via Drum Castle. It was so hot that day and we were so exhausted by the time we arrived at Drum Castle that I took one look at the tower with all its… Continue reading Mediaeval battles at Drum Castle