When my boss told me I was to be one of the first people to experience the new Aberdeen open-top bus, I did the first thing most Aberdonians would – and checked the weather.
Though clouds did darken the sky once or twice, and it was a bit blustery by the coast, the threatened downpour didn’t arrive.
This new tour bus, backed by various business bodies, is launching in a bid to cash in on the scores of cruise ships set to arrive in the north-east over the summer.
I had seen the photos of it, plastered in all its bright orange glory on the front page of the P&J a few Mondays ago.
And there it was as, brolly in hand and nervously glancing skywards, I strolled along Broad Street to find it parked up outside the closed Illicit Still pub.
For myself, I’m pretty familiar with Aberdeen’s landmarks, though the chance to gain a new perspective on them was pretty intriguing.
But my colleague Skye, being from Dundee, boarded the bus with the sense of discovery it’s reckoned thousands of tourists will in the months ahead.
What is Aberdeen’s open-top bus like?
We are joined by a crowd of Visit Aberdeenshire volunteers, who will be greeting cruise passengers when they arrive in Aberdeen.
We took our place at a prime spot on the roof and headed past what is Aberdeen’s most iconic landmark – Marischal College.
Many of us pass this building every day, but everyone still had their phones out taking pictures of the towering granite monument.
This must bode well for the tourist season.
Sightseers are treated to an in-depth audio guide throughout the tour.
It had interesting titbits of information which were new to me.
Tourists will get to learn about the stories of Robert the Bruce and Denis Law whose statues sit opposite one another in front of the landmark.
And following that interesting history lesson, we were on our way to the next stop, but not without a slight diversion…
Dodgy parking has a lot to answer for…
The bus then weaved down Littlejohn Street and towards the harbour.
It was as we were heading down Marischal Street that we encountered a bit of a practical problem.
A work truck parked right next to the junction onto Regent’s Quay meant there wasn’t enough room to turn – meaning our highly skilled driver Duncan had to reverse all the way back onto Union Street!
Hats off to Duncan, who managed to pull off the feat that would have had me sweating buckets… With that slight hitch out of the way, we were back on track.
(The good news is, this isn’t a part of the normal route, so rogue portside parkers won’t throw any other trips into disarray!)
We then headed across the city to one of its most scenic areas…
Up next was Old Aberdeen and the university, where the bus trundled down cobbled streets steeped in tradition.
The audio guide was again on hand to tell us Aberdeen’s academic history – which includes the discovery of insulin and the invention of the MRI scanner.
This is expected to be a popular stop for the visitors aboard the Aberdeen Adventurer to disembark for a wander around.
After another tight squeeze past a lorry – we were now headed off to the beach.
Spirits high despite typical Aberdonian weather
Shielding from chilly blasts from the North Sea, I didn’t need reminding that the weather in the Granite City is infamously known for its unpredictability.
According to our audio guide, Aberdeen has the most sunlight hours per day of any place in the UK – even though Thursday was not one of those days.
The wind fairly buffeted us as we made our way along the coast, with my notebook flapping uncontrollably in the breeze.
But spirits still high, we headed towards Pittodrie – where you learn all about the club’s major honours – which any tourists from Madrid or Hamburg will probably be familiar with.
After the crash course history of the club, we came into Fittie – a popular destination for tourists visiting the Granite City from across the world.
Bound to be another popular stop-off spot.
An unexpected announcement from the guide reminded passengers to “respect the privacy” of those living in the fishing village, as they roam around taking photos.
In the background, towering over the quaint community, was our next destination – the supply ships bobbing gently in the harbour.
The cameras were out yet again, as we got a unique up-close look at the imposing vessels.
‘Tourists were trying to board the bus even though we’re not running yet’
During our journey I caught a quick word with Stephen Riggans, one of the brains behind the operation at McGills.
The bus company are one of the key players behind the project, and he reckons that a unique encounter from today proves that the bus can be a success.
Stephen tells me: “I’ve noticed we have had some people trying to board the bus which is actually really good, it tells us there’s a market there the day before we even launch.
“There were two people that were waiting on Broad Street who tried to board the bus, and they were from down south but flying back home this evening.
“They said they would have loved to have been able to do this trip today, which is good to know. We’re confident that this is going to be a success.”
What did we think of Aberdeen’s open top bus?
As we then ventured along past Duthie Park, we were greeted with waves and thumbs up from the crowds of dog walkers and joggers – who probably thought we were exotic Californian tourists.
Consider that a rehearsal for warmly welcoming the real tourists.
A quick trip around the city’s leafy west end, followed by a jaunt down Union Street and up past His Majesty’s Theatre marked the end of the tour.
I had gone into the journey with an open mind. I admit I’ve not really been attracted to the idea of open-top buses when I have visited cities in Europe.
However, I was pleasantly surprised with this new way to explore the Granite City – accompanied by the interesting history provided by the audio guide.
It gave me a new appreciation for the sights of Old Aberdeen which, as an RGU graduate, I had never experienced much of before.
Skye was also impressed by the tour – having not lived in Aberdeen for too long, it was a way to take in parts of the city she hadn’t seen before.
To be honest, although I worried about it, the weather is all part of the fun.
It’s clear that a lot of work has gone into this – with the tour bus having been eight months in the making.
So if it can impress people from this part of the world, then I reckon it will dazzle the German, French and American tourists.
Read more:
- Exclusive: New open-top tour bus to show off Aberdeen in ‘whole new light’ amid tourism boom
- ‘I can’t wait to try it!’ Excitement over Aberdeen open-top tour bus as holidaymakers ‘care about seeing the sights, not the shops’
- What do American tourists think of Aberdeen as first cruise ship of 2025 season sails in
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