Three new free walking guides for popular sister parks, a musical tour of Aberdeen, and the city centre have been launched for the school summer holidays along with three specially-rebranded Tall Ships Races trails.
The new family-friendly trails produced by Aberdeen City Council cover Victoria and Westburn Parks and the city’s past and present musical connections with printed copies available from selected venues and libraries in the city centre and Rosemount areas. The bonus third trail – Aberdeen City Centre – is available online only.
The existing Maritime, Coastal, and Best of Aberdeen trails have also been given a Tall Ships makeover to complement the existing Maritime Stories Mini Trail and Union Street Secrets Mini Trail which were specially-produced for the 19-22 July event.
The Lord Provost of Aberdeen Dr David Cameron said: “All of the free trail guides are designed to encourage people discover places full of history and heritage and these two new publications certainly do that.
“Victoria and Westburn Parks are much-loved areas of peace and tranquillity with a surprising amount of history and features. The Music Trail will be a popular addition to the trail guides family with lots of music history and lore as interpreted through venues mostly in the city centre.
“We live in a beautiful city with a rich history so it’s great the two new trail guides show people what there is while highlighting many little interesting quirks and oddities along the way.”
The Victoria and Westburn Park trail covers the history, nature, and attractions of the neighbouring parks with an additional tree trail. Features include a well believed by children to have been inhabited by Tom Thumb, a magnificent fountain constructed of granite from 14 local quarries, and mini roads perfect for youngsters to practice their cycling skills.
The Aberdeen Music Trail covers the multiple players and places which have contributed towards the rich musical heritage in the city including traditional Scots, classical, ballet, opera, musical theatre, rap, pop and rock, and places range from pubs to formal venues both old and current.
Lord Provost of Aberdeen Dr David Cameron launching the new guides in Victoria Park.
The contents of the city centre trail, which was researched and written by two Robert Gordon University students, includes landmarks, highlights, and quirky details in the area in a handy walkable format.
The new walking guides mean there is now a total of 31 full trails and two mini trails in the Council trail guide series covering many historical and natural gems around the city. There free downloadable walking trail guides are available online at the City Council’s website at Free walks and trails in Aberdeen | Aberdeen City Council.
The mini trails is a new format designed especially for the Tall Ships with a smaller footprint than existing trail guides to make them easily walkable in the city centre for both locals and visitors to the event, which is Europe’s biggest family-friendly festival and taking place from 19 to 22 July 2025.
Printed copies of the mini trail booklets are available from most shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants in Union Street Central and The Green areas, as part of work to encourage people to explore the city on foot and show that businesses in these areas remain open for business while major building works are being carried out in these areas. Printed copies of the three rebranded Tall Ships trail guides are also available from many city centre businesses.
The new mini trails also complement other Tall Ships Races guides produced by Aberdeen Line 200 Committee. More information about the Tall Ships event is at The Tall Ships Races | Aberdeen | 19-22 July 2025 | Tall Ships Aberdeen
The major building works are being carried out as part of the £150million City Centre and Beach Masterplan which includes Union Street Central, the new market building, and at the city's beach area. They will create vibrant and accessible areas to help make the city a destination of choice for the benefit of residents, visitors, and businesses and more information about the works is available at Generation Aberdeen | Our City of Opportunity