City Of Aberdeen, Scotland

Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest city after Glasgow and Edinburgh with a population of 216,520 and is located between the Dee and Don rivers, although recent expansion has pushed the city limits beyond these natural boundaries.Aberdeen and the Northeast of Scotland play host to a range of International festivals, exhibitions. The surrounding countryside may appear to hark back to former days when the pace of life was very much quieter but the area is in fact home to several national and international corporations and is the centre of North Sea oil exploration and production.
It is said that the burgh of Aberdeen was established during the reign of Malcolm III (1058-93), whose great grandfather Malcolm II had created the Kingdom of Scotland in 1016 by annexing Strathclyde.
Aberdeenshire has been home to many great men and women of the arts, theology, politics, engineering, science, and much else besides.
Aberdeen sparkles not just because of the glint of the granite but as a result of the economic prosperity which is based on North Sea Oil. The city regularly wins prizes for its displays of flowers - where else would you find the central reservation of a dual-carriageway ring road filled with roses?
During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Aberdeen was under English rule, so Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308 followed by the massacring of the English garrison and the retaking of Aberdeen for the townspeople. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended, and called New Aberdeen. The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644-1647 the city was impartially plundered by both sides. In 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen.A quarter of the population died in 1647 from an outbreak of bubonic plague.
Only 16m W of Aberdeen is Castle Fraser, is the most elaborate Z-plan castle in Scotland, and one of the grandest Castles of Mar, was begun in 1575 by the 6th laird, Michael Fraser, and incorporates an earlier building. The castle was completed in 1636 and was the masterpiece of two great families of master masons, Bell and Leiper.
Travel 26m W of Aberdeen to Craigievar Castle. This fairytale-like castle, which exemplifies some of the best Scottish Baronial architecture, seems to have grown naturally out of the beautiful rolling hillsides of Aberdeenshire.
The Great Tower stands just as it was when completed by Master William Forbes - 'Danzig Willie' - in 1626. The simplicity of its lower towers contrasts perfectly with the turrets, the cupolas and corbelling which embellish the roof line.
Within its walls the collection includes an excellent show of family portraits and 17th-and 18th-century furniture. This perfect Scottish castle remains as unspoiled as it was when lived in by the Forbes-Sempill family.
The mean temperature is 8 °C (47 °F) and it varies between an average low of 5 °C (41 °F) and 11 °C (52 °F). In summer (June - August) the average high is 16 °C (63 °F) and average low 9 °C (49 °F). In winter (December - February) the average high is 6 °C (43 °F) and average low 0 °C (33 °F).
The average yearly precipitation is 753 millimetres (29.7 in), with 64 millimetres (2.5 in) in summer (June - August) and 62 millimetres (2.5 in) in winter (December - February). The wettest months are October and November.