Gifts

I feel rather awkward writing this section as I know a lot of you are spending quite a bit of money just to come up for the wedding. Still, people have asked about gifts and if you desperately want to buy us a present then (STA) travel vouchers we can put towards the honeymoon would be lovely and can be found at the link below.

STA travel vouchers

Extreme Sports! (Fishing, Whiskey etc.)

A lot of people have been asking me to post some information about fishing and whiskey - neither of which I know much about. However, the internet seems to know a great deal and so here, for your perusal, is a list of helpful sites found by the all-knowing entity which is google. If anybody local does know of any good places to fish/drink whiskey then please get in touch - as I say I'm rather unqualified to talk about this.

As well as the afore mentioned activities I'll also post links to the Castle Trail and so on. I'll add links to museums, cinemas and golf related things in a later post.

FISHING

http://www.fishing-scotland.net/dee.htm -- this site lists links to various places in Aberdeenshire. I'm told the main fishing rivers are the Don and the Dee, however there is also the Ythan which is apparently well known for its sea-trout.

http://www.fishingnet.com/misc/law.htm -- from the same site as the above link, here are the fishing laws for Scotland. Apparently there is no national rod licence, and fishing law falls into two categories.

http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/parks/fishing/fishing_season_permits.asp -- this is the official Aberdeenshire Council fishing permit site and lists the permit charges for 2008 and where permits can be purchased. It also lists locations in which these permits are valid. As far as I can tell if the land on which you want to fish is privately owned then you have to seek permission of the land owner, though as I said before, I'm not really the person to ask.

TOURIST TRAILS

There are five very interesting "trails" to go on whilst in Aberdeenshire - Whiskey, Castle, Victorian, Coastal and Stone Circle. This site will explain them far better than I could. http://www.agtb.org/touristtrails.htm Tolquhon is already on the Castle Trail and Haddo House is no more than one or two miles away. Haddo is really worth the visit - not only does it have a childrens play park, dog area and country park but it has a mile-long drive which, if you walk to the end of it, gives you the most stunning view over the countryside. There are also some bird-hides around the park if you're interested in bird watching and I'm told that there's an Osprey living there which is apparently quite rare. Also, it might be interesting to read a bit of what I've written about the coastal train as I go off on a tangent about Slains Castle.

As for whiskey - the whiskey trail is rather far north as you can see if you look at the above link. I'd advise you take the trail over a few days because each distillery is facinating and if you rush it they all sort of blur into one. Some of them have beautiful houses and gardens attached so it's really worth taking your time. The scenery up there is incredible too so it really is worth the treck.

The other trails - coastal, stone circle and Victorian I know less about. The coastal trail, as far as I can tell takes the road south towards Arbroath and St. Andrews, into golfing country. Heading north you'll go through Cruden Bay, which if I'm honest, isn't a particularly pretty place (nor is Peterhead, mind you!) however, Cruden Bay has two redeeming factors. The first is the magnificent beach and the second is the hidden gem which is Slains Castle. Slains is where Bram Stoker apparently put pen to paper when beginning Dracula and its easy to see how the stark cliffs and misty sea (locals call the mist a "haar") inspired the eerie novel. Slains, unlike any of the castles on the castle trail is completely free to visit however as the site is not maintained and is on the edge of a cliff there are no railings etc. Missed off the coastal trail, very unjustly, is the little harbour town of Collieston - if you're after a quaint little Scottish fishing village then you couldn't get more authentic than this. To the left is a picture. A similar small town, actually mentioned as part of the route is Pennan (pictured at the top of this post) - this has been used as a film location for various things over the years and rightly so. North, past Peterhead and Cruden Bay, Pennan is nestled down at the bottom of some cliffs. Mum and I took Percy Polo (my beloved car) down there one summer and his little 1 litre petrol motor cried all the way to the top again so the journey is not for the faint engined. The walk down is lovely, mind you, and there's a pub at the bottom for refreshment. Getting back up is the only problem...

Since the coastal trail goes so far north its easy to combine with the whiskey trail. Actually, it's rather easy to combine all of them - the trails are all signposted with brown roadsigns, using symbols to differentiate between the various routes.

Classic Car Hire

For people who, like me, become a drooling, gibbering wreck when classic sports cars are mentioned, here is a list of companies which rent out classic cars. As far as I can see - annoying as it is - the minimum age for hire is 25.

http://www.caledonianclassics.co.uk/index.htm
This one allows unlimited milage.

http://www.granturismo.demon.co.uk/classic.htm
This site has a slightly larger range of newer cars.

Food

The Reception will be held very close to Tolquhon castle at the Eat on the Green restaurant. (www.eatonthegreen.co.uk)

The village of Udny Green - where the restaurant is situated - is a small hamlet, said to date back to the 14th Century. The building itself is made up of the old village pub and the post office.

Travel Information

AIRPORT

To the left is a list of some of the airlines which fly out of Aberdeen and where they fly to. I only included the flights which I thought would be most useful, however more can be found on the Aberdeen Airport website(www.aberdeenairport.com/) under the tab “Plan and book your trip – destinations and airlines.”

TRAINS

http://www.thetrainline.com/ is possibly the easiest site to find train times on, however booking tickets there is something of a risky business. www.nationalrail.co.uk/ is where I buy my rail tickets from and also has various special offers that don’t appear on the trainline. There is one main station in Aberdeen, and a smaller, local station in Inverurie however trains to Inverurie are commuter trains so expect them to be busy.

LOCAL TAXI FIRMS

Here are some phone numbers for local taxis. As well as these, taxi ranks can be found at both Aberdeen and Inverurie train stations.

Aberdeen Airport Taxis
Aberdeen Airport Dyce
Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
AB21 7DU
Telephone: 01224 775555

Aberdeenshire Allways Taxis
Unit 7 Kinture Business Park
Cairnhall
Inverurie
Aberdeenshire
AB51 0YQT
Telephone: 01467 633333

Keir's TaxisHill of Cottown
Croft Kintore Inverurie
Aberdeenshire
AB51 0YAT
Telephone: 01467 643233

Haddo Cars Tarves
Uppermill
Tarves
Ellon
Aberdeenshire
AB41 7NP
Telephone: 01651 851122

BUSES

A very cheap, but not so comfortable way to get around the country is http://www.megabus.com/. You can generally pick up a ticket from London to Aberdeen for the princely sum of £6 however, if you want to be comfortable then I’d suggest you fork out for http://www.nationalexpress.com/. This is a slightly more civilised bus company which does offer some pretty good deals.

There are bus stops in most small villages, though the bus station in Aberdeeen is the only place that national buses go. The local buses also leave from here and are operated by www.stagecoachbus.com/bluebird/. The bus station itself is located just opposite the train station and is about 5minutes walk away from the travel lodge in Aberdeen town centre. The nearest bus stop to the wedding venue is Tarves, I think, though Pitmedden is also very close. Back when I lived in Aberdeenshire, if you asked the bus driver to stop at the road to Tolquhon castle then they usually did. I don’t know if they’re allowed to do that now but if not then lifts from Tarves or Pitmedden can be arranged easily.

CAR HIRE

http://compare.carrentals.co.uk/ On this site you can compare prices of various car hire companies with collection from both Aberdeen Airport and Aberdeen Town Centre.

Accomodation

Obviously the following lists aren’t comprehensive, though I’ve tried to include as much variety as I could – there’s a couple of hotels, some self catering cottages, B&B’s and even a campsite, just in case! All are within reasonable driving distance of the wedding venue and reception. I suggest, however, that if you don’t intend to drive/rent a car then you should probably stay in Aberdeen or Inverurie as the surrounding area is very rural! For those of you coming in larger groups who want to book a cottage to share then it might be an idea to book as soon as possible – I’ve had a quick look at availability and a lot of places are booked out for the weeks around the 16th August. The only other advice I can give is to check the prices at the places you’d like to stay – the 4 star Thainstone House Hotel is cheaper than the Travel Lodge in Aberdeen on certain days so it pays to have a good look through.

HOTELS

Thainstone House Hotel, Inverurie

Telephone: 01467 621643

Email: res.thainstone@crerarmgmt.com
www.swallow-hotels.com/hotels/thainstone-house

The Kintore Arms, Inverurie
Telephone: 01467 632216
www.information-britain.co.uk/showplace.cfm?place_ID=4182

Breaslann Guest House, Inverurie
Telephone: 01467 621608
www.4hotels.co.uk/uk/inverurie69741.html

Thistle Hotel, Aberdeen Airport
Telephone: 0870 333 9149
Email: AberdeenAirport@Thistle.co.uk
www.thistlehotels.com/thistle/hotels/hotelFinder/viewHotel.do?hotelID=th-aberdeen-airport

Meldrum House Hotel, Oldmeldrum
Telephone: 01651 872294
Email:enquiries@meldrumhouse.co.uk

www.meldrumhousegolf.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=27
Small Dogs Welcome

Travel Lodge, Aberdeen
Telephone: 0871 984 6117
www.travelodge.co.uk/find_a_hotel/hotel/hotel_id/1/AberdeenCentral

Pittodrie House Hotel, Chapel of Garioch
Telephone: 0870 1942111
www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/pittodrie/

BED AND BREAKFASTS

Bridge of Muchalls, Castle Fraser, Inverurie
Telephone: 01467642522
www.smoothhound.co.uk/hotels/bridgeofm

Standing Gables, Meikle Wartle, Inverurie
Telephone: 01467 671354
Email: sandra@standinggables.fsnet.co.uk
www.standinggables.fsnet.co.uk

Friday Hill B&B, Kinmuck, Inverurie
Telephone: 01651 882252

Email: fergusmcgh@aol.com
www.fridayhill.info

Lynturk Farmhouse, Alford, Inverurie
Telephone:01975 562504
Email: lynturk@hotmail.com
www.aboutscotland.com/aberdeen/lynturk.html
Children welcome, dogs allowed by arrangement.

Breaslann Guest House, Inverurie
Telephone: 01467 621608

Email: breaslann@btconnect.com
http://www.a1tourism.com/uk/a57396.html
Children and pets welcome.

Creelwell Farm, Turiff, Inverurie
Telephone: 0 1466 730256
Email: creelwell@btopenworld.com
http://www.creelwell.co.uk/
It should be noted that this is a working farm.

Quarry Croft, Insch, Huntly
Telephone: 0 1464 831339

Email: quarry_croft@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.farmhousebedandbreakfast.co.uk/cfbsaber.htm#HUNTLY

SELF CATERING

Whitehouse Cottages, Alford, Inverurie
http://www.uniquescotland.com/whitehouse/index.html
Various cottages available for rental.

Forglen Estate Holiday Cottages, Turiff
http://www.scotland2000.com/forglen/
10 Self catering properties, sleeping between 6-9 people within one estate.

Dreamhouse Appartments, Aberdeen
http://www.information-britain.co.uk/showPlace.cfm?Place_ID=69020
These appartments have broadband access included in the price.

ALTERNATIVES

Aberdeen youth Hostel, Aberdeen
Telephone: 0870 004 1100
www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/web/site/Hostels/Aberdeen.asp

Robert Gordens University, Aberdeen
Telephone: 01224 262134
www.scotland2000.com/rgu/
It should be noted that this accomodation is only available until 18th August.

Haughton Park Campsite, Alford, Inverurie
Telephone: 01975 562107

www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/caravanparks/locations/alford.asp
Self-catering flats are also available in the main house.

Delgatie Castle, Turiff, Inverurie
http://www.oas.co.uk/ukcottages/delgatiecastle/

5 person accomodation within the castle itself, for a reasonable price.

Location and Itinerary

The wedding ceremony itself will take place at Tolquhon Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Hopefully we'll have good weather and will be able to hold the service in what was the Great Hall, but with it being Scotland the chances of rain are quite high, so we might be getting married in what was once the castle kitchens!

The castle itself is managed by Historic Scotland and details can be found at the following website. http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail.htm?propertyID=PL_289 Parts of the castle date as far back as 1420 however the vast majority of it was constructed by William Forbes in the late 1500's. With the exception of the old tower the building is not a defensive site and was built with comfort in mind.

Historic Scotland do operate a strict "no confetti" policy which also excludes rose petals. If people desperately want to throw things at us (which I can understand the appeal of!) then bubbles are suggested - and they're very good fun too.

If all goes according to plan the ceremony will begin at eleven o'clock. When this is finished those who attended the wedding will set off for a bit of lunch (see post entitled "food"). After a nice long meal and little tipple we'll head back to Upper Coullie for a very relaxed gathering at around four o'clock.