A Car-free Trip Around Aberdeenshire: I Saw Natural Beauty I Thought Was Out Of Reach

The city and its stunning setting on Scotland’s north-east coast are surprisingly easy to explore by rail, bus and on foot

Seabirds fly below the train as it crosses the Firth of Forth with late afternoon light sparking the water. A kestrel hovers over hay meadows near Kirkcaldy. The lumpy Lomond Hills are sun-misted and the woods are touched with autumn gold. The final stretch of the seven-hour train journey from London to Aberdeen runs along the rocky Scottish shore past forts and firths. (York-Aberdeen costs from £32.30 one way, London from £68.80, lner.co.uk).

Looking back, near Stonehaven station, I can see Dunnottar Castle. The walk from Stonehaven along the cliffs to this castle on its promontory in the North Sea is one many exceptional car-free days out from Aberdeen. It’s a city I keep coming back to. I first arrived expecting oil rigs, grey buildings, and bad weather – and I found art galleries, wooded lochs, 91 miles of coast, and surprisingly mild weather in one of the UK’s sunniest cities. Aberdeenshire also has good, reliable public transport. I’m spending a week exploring by bus, from the county’s south-west corner in the Cairngorms to Scotland’s first mainland lighthouse on Aberdeenshire’s north-easterly tip. The scenic journeys I take are cheaper with a countywide Bluebird Explorer 7-Day MegaRider (£51.20/£38.40 full price/student).