Aberdeen has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years and its Harbour Board is the oldest recorded business in Britain having been established in 1136.

FISHING and SHIPBUILDING were Aberdeen’s main industries until the 1970’s, along with textiles and paper making.

NORTH SEA OIL exploration and production now plays a huge part in Aberdeen’s economy. Helicopter traffic to the offshore oil rigs make Aberdeen heliport the second busiest in the world. There is a constant to and fro of oil rig support vessels through Aberdeen harbor. The revenue generated from North Sea oil and gas makes Aberdeen one of the most expensive areas in the UK for property.

RESEARCH into agricultural and soil along with food and nutrition research make Aberdeen world renowned in these fields. The Rowett Research Institute has produced three Nobel Laureates in the food and nutrition fields in recent years. Research into new energies sources and technology transfer from the oil industry are other areas where Aberdeen features strongly.

45 PARKS and GARDENS make Aberdeen rightly famous. The city has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Britain in Bloom’ award a record ten times. In fact after winning the award nine times in a row Aberdeen was banned from the competition in order to give other cities a chance at winning.

SANDY BEACHES and sand dunes stretch for miles from the city northward. To the south the coastline is rocky cliffs and inlets with many small villages.

CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK is on Aberdeen’s doorstep and is the largest In the UK and a Special Area of Conservation.