Living in Aberdeen Part 3

Torry Battery

Outside of my internship, I've been trying to explore the city and surrounding areas. Last weekend, with some fellow interns we walked up to Torry Battery. It's an artillery battery which has overlooked the city's harbour since 1860. Originally, it was constructed to be used as a training ground and barracks for soldiers stationed there until it was decommissioned in the 1950s. During the First and Second World Wars it was used to defend the city, finally being decommissioned in 1956. Interestingly, despite the it primarily being set up to defend Aberdeen, the guns at Torry Battery were never used. They were only fired during WWII as a warning shot to an approaching ship, but turns out it was a friendly. The site's role changed in 1946 where it served as emergency housing for 20 families until 1953. 1960 saw Torry Battery being partly demolished as it was deemed unsafe for people. However people still went to visit it, and around 2020 the Greyhope Bay Centre was built on the site. It is a charitable organisation offering various ways to get involved and volunteering opportunities, which you can find out more about here.

From a civil engineering point of view, the Centre is pretty cool as it is a completely off-grid eco facility, built using old shipping containers. This means that they generate their own energy, collect their own water, and what's more impressive is that this ethos runs through to their café too. They serve vegetarian and vegan food, which is locally sourced and sustainably packaged. As someone who has always been veggie and now vegan for 3 years, I'm impressed!

Annoyingly, when we went there last week I was not aware of any of the above, so we didn't actually visit the Centre (it's been added to the bucket list now). It was a 3 mile walk from where I'm staying, going through Union Street (the high road) and past the harbour. The route then took us onto country roads up to Torry Battery. I should mention here that the weather went from sun --> heavy rain --> sun, what I'm realising is quite a common pattern up here! Raincoats were at the ready so it wasn't an issue, although it did mean we didn't stay as long and the views from the Battery were limited.

Old Town Aberdeen

The nice thing about an internship, unlike university is that once you leave the office or log off for the day, you have your evenings back to do whatever you fancy. We took a walk to Old Aberdeen. The city is split into two areas, Old and New Aberdeen, with the former located 2km north of the modern city centre. From where I'm staying it was about a 15 minute walk to get there, and what a difference when you arrive! Old Aberdeen is made up of quiet cobbled streets with buildings generally no more than 2 storeys high. It almost feels like you've gone back in time as you walk through the medieval streets. It's refreshingly different from New Aberdeen, which has a typical modern city design, layout and vibe.

King's College and Chapel

King's College is part of the University of Aberdeen, the 5th oldest university in the UK. The tower has been refurbished following damage after a storm, and has a nice courtyard and lawns which you can walk around.

Powis Gateway

This defined gateway was originally an entrance to the Powis Estate. Powis House was built in 1802 and in current times serves as a community centre. The Gateway matches the presence of King's College opposite it.

Seaton Park and St Machar's Cathedral

I didn't manage to get any snaps of these places, but St Machar's Cathedral is the oldest building in active use in Aberdeen, with Seaton Park providing plenty of green space to chill in Old Town.

I'm glad that I decided to have a wander around Aberdeen Old Town, it was definitely a lot more picturesque than I expected it to be! So if you do find yourself in the area, I would defo recommend visiting this part of town :)

PS: Is there something that you'd like me to find out about or explore in Aberdeen in particular? Feel free to drop me a message with any suggestions!