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Aberdeen Inside Guide
Section 7 - Life of Leisure
7.1
Libraries
7.2 Arts
and Crafts
7.3 Sports
7.4 Social
Clubs and Organisations
7.5 Going
Out
7.6 Travels
and Visitors
7.0
Life of Leisure
7.1
Libraries
7.1.1
Aberdeen Library and
Information Service
Operates seventeen local
libraries, a mobile library and housebound services. The
main library is the Central Library at Rosemount
Viaduct.
Central Library
Aberdeen City Council
Rosemount Viaduct
Aberdeen
AB25 1GW
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 652500
CentralLibrary@aberdeencity.gov.uk
There are 17 local libraries throughout
the City of Aberdeen. Most Libraries have large print
books, talking books, videos, DVDs, music CDs, a quick
reference section, community information, a copy of the
electrol register and minutes of local authority
meetings. There is also a toy lending service from
Tillydrone, Kincorth and Mastrick Libraries.
Adult membership is from
age 12. Children's membership is up to the age of 12. A
guarantor signature is required for children and young
people up to age 16. If you wish to become a member,
formal identification (eg recent bank statement, utility
bill, or similar ID) showing proof of address is
required. Your library membership is valid at the
Central and all local Libraries within the City.
7.1.2
Aberdeenshire Library and Information Service
Has something for people of all ages and
offers a range of services to the local community, from
computer facilities to local studies to library events
and much more. This is provided through a network of 36
libraries and 6 mobile libraries with a range of books,
videos, CDs, DVDs, information, and a growing number of
computer based resources. Local libraries can be found
in places such as Banchory, Aboyne, Westhill, Stonehaven
and many more. For more details contact:
Aberdeenshire Library and Information
Service Headquarters
Meldrum Meg Way
Oldmeldrum
AB51 0GN
Tel: +44 (0) 1651 872707
Monday-Friday 9.00-5.00pm
Email:
alis@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/libraries/index.asp
7.2
Arts and Crafts
Two places to book art
classes are:
-
White Space, 60
Frederick Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5HY, Tel. +44 (0)
1224 523640. Contact: Lesley Thomson.
-
The Artist's Pad, 10-11
Castle Street, Aberdeen, Tel. +44 (0) 1224 622332
There are many
opportunities for following art, craft and needlework
activities in Aberdeen and the area. Your local
community centre (check the number for your local one in
the Yellow Pages under Community Centres) may run
evening and/or daytime courses in Soft Furnishings and
Needlecraft. Some of these may be run in association
with Aberdeen College, 01224 612330,
www.abcol.ac.uk
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7.3
Sports
There is an enormous
range of sporting activities available in Aberdeen and
its surrounding area ranging from more traditional
sports such as bowling, tennis and golf to flying, hill
walking and cross country skiing. Within the city centre
and in the surrounding suburbs and more rural districts,
a full range of indoor sporting and leisure pursuits can
be found. There are all sorts of activities to keep the
younger family members busy ranging from dancing to
swimming lessons, and ten pin bowling to horse riding.
Some useful websites containing leisure information:
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk and
www.information-britain.co.uk.
7.3.1
In the
swimming pool: children and adult supervision
One adult must
supervise (i.e. be in the pool with the child) one child
under 5, but can supervise 2 children under 5 when they
are wearing armbands. An adult can supervise 2 children,
one being under 5, the other over 5; however 2 children
under 5 have to be supervised by 2 adults, unless they
are wearing armbands. Children over 8, who are confident
swimmers can swim by themselves.
7.3.2
Local
Sports Centres
Activities such as squash, badminton and
exercise classes tend to be based around local sports
centres: many clubs such as badminton and squash will
use one of these centres as their base and have a ìclub
nightî during the week. The best way to find a club is
to visit the nearest sports and leisure centre and
consult the notice boards. Times of classes and
availability of facilities vary, particularly during
school holidays. It is possible to pursue almost any
sport in and around Aberdeen and Outpost can provide a
detailed list for you on request. You can also check
out:
www.scottishsport.co.uk
7.3.3
Gyms and
health clubs
Consult the Yellow
Pages under Health Clubs and Fitness Centres for a full
listing of gyms and health centres near where you live.
However, some of the most popular are:
-
Cannons, Justice Mill
Lane, including pool. Tel. +44 (0) 1224 588789,
www.cannons.co.uk
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Exel Sports & Leisure
Club, Farburn Industrial Estate, Dyce, Aberdeen,
tel. +44 (0) 1224 833170,
exelclub@bp.com, website:
www.excelclub.com. All indoor sports are offered
in the large games hall. They have two squash
courts available for use, as well as a health room,
gym, weights room and pool table. They also run
fitness tests and classes such as step aerobics.
Open Mon-Fri 7am-10pm, Sat 9am-10pm, Sun 10am-10pm.
-
Kippie Lodge, North
Deeside Road Milltimber, tel. +44 (0) 1224 732677 or
734747, website:
www.kippielodge.co.uk. For those looking for
extensive club sports and social facilities under
one roof, Kippie Lodge situated on the edge of
Milltimber has everything you need. There is an
attractive recently refurbished pool (swimming
lessons available), a covered golf driving range and
practice area (two golf coaches available), racquet
sports facilities (coaching available) and a
hair/beauty/massage salon. There are excellent
dining facilities and Friday evenings are club
nights where children can have their own fun while
adults enjoy a meal and drinks with friends. There
are regular organised social events. There are
holiday club facilities for children as well as
children's swimming and tennis lessons. Creche
facilities are available Monday - Friday from
9.30-2.30pm and 9.30-12.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Membership costs are high, exceeding £900 per year
for a family.
-
Woodbank, Cults - a
facility exclusively for Shell employees and their
families offers good quality fitness and
multi-sports facilities. They also have tennis and
squash courses and offer activity-days both for the
family and for individuals. In addition to this,
they offer a range of activities such as aerobics,
table tennis, golf etc. through various club
sections, plus a restaurant welcoming families. They
offer a cr'che facility two mornings per week.
-
Warehouse Health Club,
20 Mearns Street, Aberdeen, tel. +44 (0) 1224
571457, website:
www.warehousehealth.com. Gym, ladies private
gym, aerobics, saunas, swimming pool, spin bike
classes, step, remedial therapy, personal training,
massage, spa, sunbeds, steam rooms, beauty therapy.
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7.4
Social Clubs and
Organisations
For Dutch nationals there is the
Nederlandse Vereniging Aberdeen. They organise several
events through the year, such as the Dutch St Nicolaas
celebration around 5 December. For information on
membership etc. visit:
www.nvaberdeen.com.
There is also a Norwegian club, website:
www.norwegianclub.com
Clubs for women in Aberdeen include:
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Association of American
Women of Aberdeen, who meet for cultural and social
exchange. They offer a variety of social, cultural,
intellectual, physical and philanthropic activities.
For further information contact them at PO Box 424,
73 Holburn Street, Aberdeen, AB10 6DN or
membership@awaaberdeen.org or view their website
www.awaaberdeen.org.
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Petroleum Women's Club
of Scotland, whose aims are to promote friendship
and understanding amongst all women associated with
the petroleum industry in Scotland. They have
members from 40 different nationalities.
www.pwcos.com or contact Janet Hood, email:
pwcscotland@yahoo.co.uk. They hold meetings the
firstWithin the
club there are also activities such as: tenpin
bowling, walking, book club, dinner club, majong and
bridge to name but a few. They also raise money for
a different local charity every year.
There are several charitable
organisations with offices in Aberdeen who are always
seeking people with energy and enthusiasm to assist with
raising money. Look in the Yellow Pages under
'Charitable and Voluntary'.
7.5
Going Out
For those for whom leisure means a good
meal out, Aberdeen is a very cosmopolitan city offering
virtually every type of cuisine to suit a range of
budgets. Outpost can provide you with a list of family
friendly restaurants, or restaurants for dinner for two
/ special occasions:/ terraces for a sunny summer's
day/group nights out/ cafes etc.
7.5.1
Theatres
and Concert Halls
For information on 'What's On' and how to
get to the venues look at Aberdeenshire council's
website,
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk. The following theatres and
concert halls can be found in Aberdeen:
-
Aberdeen Arts Centre, 33
King Street, Aberdeen, tel. +44 (0) 1224 635208,
www.digifresh.co.uk
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His Majesty's Theatre,
Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen, tel. +44 (0) 1224
641122.
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The
Lemon Tree, 5 West North Street Aberdeen tel. +44 (0) 1224
642230.
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The Music Hall, Union
Street Aberdeen, tel. +44 (0) 1224 632080.
-
Aberdeen Box Office,
Union Street, Aberdeen, tel. +44 (0) 1224 641122,
www.boxofficeaberdeen.com
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Aberdeen Exhibition
Centre, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, tel. +44 (0) 1224
824824,
www.aecc.co.uk.
7.5.2
Cinemas
The following three cinemas can be found
in Aberdeen:
-
Vue: 10 Shiprow,
Aberdeen, tel. 0870 2404442,
www.myvue.com
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Cineworld: Queens
Links, tel.0870 1550502,
www.cineworld.co.uk , you can book seats online.
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The-Belmont 49 Belmont
Street tel. +44(0) 1224 343536,
www.picturehouses.co.uk, select Aberdeen. The
Belmont is the venue for arthouse, foreign, classic
and quality mainstream cinemas.
7.5.3
Nightclubs
The consensus is that Aberdeen does not
have any fantastic clubs! But those listed below are
quite popular.
-
The Ministry and The
Priory are popular with the young. The Ministry
Nightclub, 16 Dee St, Aberdeen, AB11 6DR, tel. +44
(0) 1224 594585 and The Priory, St. Nicholas Hall,
33, Belmont St, Aberdeen, AB10 1JE, tel. +44 (0)
1224 625555.
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Babylon, 9 Alford Place,
Aberdeen, tel.+44 (0) 1224 595001. Described by a
client as an urban atmosphere, good music and
relaxed.
-
Espionage 120 Union
Street Aberdeen tel. +44 (0) 1224 561006. New,
different and plays a good variety of music.
-
Liquid, 5 Bridge Place,
Aberdeen tel. +44 (0) 1224 595239.
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Tiger Tiger, 1-2 Shiprow,
Aberdeen, AB11 5BY, tel. +44 (0) 1224 252434,
www.tigertiger.co.uk
7.5.4
Pubs
Scottish pubs are
interesting places! They are often very different from
English pubs, which can be quaint, quiet places where
you can enjoy a drink and perhaps a nice pub meal.
Traditional Scottish pubs on the other hand are places
to drink, - often large amounts. Some Scottish pubs have
a lounge bar and a public bar. The lounge bar is more
suitable for families and people who want to enjoy a
quiet drink and a snack. Public bars were traditionally
a male domain where heavy drinking went on. Times have
changed but they still tend to have a rougher image.
For a list of pubs, contact
Outpost.
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7.6
Travels
and Visitors
7.6.1
In and out
of the country
Aberdeen International Airport (www.baaa.com)
is situated approximately 8 km to the north of Aberdeen
and is connected to the city centre by both a bus (no.
27) and a taxi service. From here you can take an
internal flight to a range of cities in the UK. There
are 15 air operators who fly out of Aberdeen and
although it is a smaller airport than Glasgow or
Edinburgh, it offers a number of direct services to
European destinations such as Amsterdam, Paris, Bergen
and Stavanger. If you are traveling outside Europe you
will probably need to take a connecting service through
either London Heathrow, Gatwick or through another
European airport, most often Amsterdam. Taxi's are
available to Dyce station or town from outside the
Terminal from Rainbow Airport Taxis, tel.+44 (0) 1224
725 500 or 878 787 or 494 949; website:
www.rainbow87.com. The airport information desk,
tel. +44 (0) 1224 722331 is situated in the check-in
area of the Terminal building. Tourist information
enquiries can also be made at the tourist information
office, tel. +44 (0) 1224 632 727.
7.6.2
Excursions,
tours and day trips
Aberdeen has no shortage of things to see
and do. There are castles, whisky distilleries, golf
courses, museums, forest walks and numerous other
options. The following reference books will give you
plenty of ideas:
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Scotland the Best
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DK Eyewitness Travel
Guide Scotland
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Lonely Planet Scotland
-
Touring Guide Scotland
(in association with Visit Scotland
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Footprint Scotland
Handbook
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For children: Yacketi
Yack Aberdeen for little people
Good websites to visit are:
Or visit the Aberdeen Tourist Information
Centre, 23 Union Street, Aberdeen.
The Aberdeen City Council City Events
Team is responsible for a wide variety of indoor and
outdoor events throughout the whole of the Aberdeen City
area. Examples of the events the team produce include
City of Aberdeen Highland Games, Freedom of the City
Ceremonies, the Aberdeen Technip Walkathon, City of
Aberdeen Bowling Tournament and City of Aberdeen
Hogmanay Party. You can view current and forthcoming
events on the
Events Calendar, found at
http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ACCI/web/site/xev_event.asp
7.6.3
Visitors
Rules and regulations
for who does and does not require a
visa to enter the UK
are likely to change. It is always wise to check out the
official government website for up to date information:
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk Below is a basic list of
legal requirements to ensure access into the country
that was valid as we went to print (this is based on
coming for a visit of less than 6 months):
> Passports
You are required to have a
passport that is valid for the whole period of the visit
to the UK, unless you are a national of a EU country,
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway or Switzerland
(but you must bring your valid national ID card with you
if you are from these countries).
> Visas
Are required by all except the
following:
Nationals listed under passports above,
and nationals of American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua &
Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados,
Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Botswana, Brazil, British
Overseas Territories, Brunei, Chile, Cook Islands, Costa
Rica, Curacao, Dominica, East Timor, El Salvador,
Federated States of Micronesia, French Guiana,
Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala,
Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR), Iceland, Israel, Kiribati,
Korea (Rep), Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Macau (SAR),
Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands,
Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru,
New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Norway,
Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Puerto Rico,
Reunion, Saba, St Eustatius, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia,
St Maarten, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, San
Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South
Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tahiti, Tonga, Trinidad
& Tobago, Tuvalu, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu
and Venezuela
Those in transit, provided arriving and
departing by air within 24 hours and holding all
necessary onward documentation. Direct Airside Transit
visas are required by the following countries, even if
not entering the UK or changing airports during transit:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh,
Belarus, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, China (PR), Colombia,
Congo (Dem Rep), Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia,
Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lebanon,
Liberia, Macedonia, Moldova, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia &
Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan,
Turkey, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uganda,
Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
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Although every
effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Outpost
Aberdeen cannot assume responsibility for errors in the
information included in this guide.
All rights reserved,
including the right to translate or to reproduce this
guide or any part of it in any form or by any
techniques, without the written permission of Outpost
Aberdeen.
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