County Dossier
Aberdeenshire
A county of granite, castles and Highland gates.
Aberdeenshire is a Highland county with a long tradition of being divided into five historic districts. In the far north lies Buchan, whose “Cold Shoulder” coast is home to the fishing towns of Fraserburgh and Peterhead, along with the celebrated “Nine Castles of the Knuckle.” To the east, Formartine stretches between the rivers Ythan and Don, with the ruins of 16th-century Ellon Castle at its heart.
At a glance
Aberdeenshire at a glance
A county of granite, castles and Highland gates.
- Ancient heart of the Picts
- Sheriff of Aberdeen recorded c.1260
- Castles and royal burghs
- Area 1,950 sq mi 5,050 km²
- Population 380,495
- County top: Ben Macdhui 4,295 ft / 1,309 m
County Geography
Aberdeenshire meets Kincardineshire, Angus, and Perthshire to the south, Banffshire and Inverness-shire to the west, and the North Sea to the north and east. The county includes coastal lowland, fertile inland districts, and a western rise into mountain country, giving it both maritime and Highland character.
Buchan, Formartine, Garioch, Strathbogie, and Mar give Aberdeenshire a readable internal order from coast to upland.
Map Reference
View Aberdeenshire on the map
Aberdeenshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Aberdeen, Inverurie, Huntly, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Ellon, Ballater, and Braemar all belong to the county’s story. So do the castle country of the north-east, the Dee and Don corridors, the fishing ports of Buchan, and the road and rail approaches between coast and upland.
Connections
Aberdeenshire has always been shaped by the routes between its ports, its market centres, and the western passages into the Grampians. Those movements sit within a clear coastal and river-based frame.
Names
- Aberdeenshire
- County of Aberdeen
- Siorrachd Obar Dheathain