Aberdeen Harbour Tours

05/09/2026

04/09/2026

We have spaces tomorrow 11am on the dolphin cruise. To Book Call 07807 031018

31/08/2026

The Denburn is very important to the early history of Aberdeen Harbour.

The interesting bit is that the Denburn originally flowed openly into the Dee estuary, roughly where the modern harbour/city centre developed. The area was then a tidal, marshy landscape of channels and islands called the Inches. The Denburn joined the northernmost channel of the Dee, which ran approximately along the line of today's Upper Dock and Victoria Dock.

The really interesting part
The Denburn wasn't simply buried and forgotten. It was actually incorporated into the development of the harbour.

By the 17th century, harbour works had altered the course of the Denburn. Historical accounts describe it being diverted into the new harbour, where its water helped feed and scour the harbour.

Later, as Aberdeen expanded, the Denburn was progressively put underground. A major Victorian brick-lined culvert, constructed in the 1840s, carries the burn beneath the city towards Aberdeen Harbour. The final culvert is about 1.2 km long, running from the Gilcomston area and ending at an opening beneath the apron of Victoria Dock.

So, remarkably, the Denburn still reaches Aberdeen Harbour today — underground.
There's also a fantastic historical connection: the early settlement of Aberdeen developed around the point where the Denburn entered the Dee estuary. Aberdeen City Council describes New Aberdeen as a settlement where the Denburn entered the Dee estuary.
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26/08/2026

⚓ The 1842 leading-light towers

The two towers were built in 1842, during the major improvements to Aberdeen Harbour directed by harbour engineer James Abernethy. They were needed because the North Pier and South Breakwater had narrowed the entrance channel, making it important for ships to keep precisely to the navigable channel.

They are remarkable structures:
Cast iron, rather than stone or brick.
Octagonal, tapering upwards like miniature lighthouses.

Originally about 7 m (25 ft) high.
Raised in 1886/87 to about 12 m (40 ft).
Positioned roughly 240 metres apart.
Designed so that when a ship saw the two lights vertically aligned, it was on the correct bearing into the harbour.

The ironwork was associated with Ferryhill Foundry and James Abernethy's cousin, also James Abernethy. The towers even have their castings detailed to imitate coursed granite masonry, making them look like conventional lighthouse towers.

🔴🟢 And the lights were clever
They weren't simply "red means stop, green means go".

The historic system used red and green indications to tell mariners whether the appropriate navigation route was available. A fascinating 1883 account from the master of Alexander Pirie describes approaching the harbour according to the leading lights and slowing or stopping when the indication required caution.

📍 They have actually moved

The towers aren't both in exactly their original positions:

1874: the southwest/front tower was moved about 6 m north to improve the alignment.

1886/87: both were heightened.

1896: the northeast/rear tower was moved slightly because of storm/flood risk.

2013: the northeast tower was moved again by a few metres when the navigation channel was widened.

And amazingly, the historic pair are still active navigation aids today. They were listed as Category B historic structures in 2019 and are considered among the oldest surviving cast-iron leading-light towers in the world.

Do you.have any old Photos? We would love to see them in the comments

25/08/2026

8 miles off Aberdeen White Beaked Dolphins once again in a playful mood 😍😍

25/08/2026

Aberdeen's drifters

During the great herring boom, Aberdeen became a major summer base for visiting drifters. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 100 Kirkcaldy-registered drifters could be fishing from Aberdeen Harbour during July and August.

There were several distinct types:
Fifie – broad-beamed sailing drifter, with a straight stem and stern.

Zulu – straight stem but a distinctive steeply raked stern.

Steam drifter – generally around 80–90 ft long, carrying considerably more nets and able to reach the fishing grounds much faster.

Later came motor/diesel drifters, which gradually replaced the steam fleet.

One fascinating Aberdeen-built example was ERASTUS, FR272, built by John Duthie Torry Shipbuilding Co. in 1908. She was 86.1 ft long, 100 gross tons and was a steam herring drifter. During WWI she was requisitioned as an anti-submarine net vessel and fitted with a 6-pounder gun.

Another was RESEARCH, built at John Duthie's Torry yard in 1904, 81.5 ft long and 89 tons. She was lost to a German submarine in June 1915 while fishing northeast of the Shetland Islands.

And CHARITY, built by Duthie & Sons in Aberdeen in 1901, was a 90.5-ft steam herring drifter originally registered A428 Aberdeen.

The really interesting part

There is an actual photograph showing a line of Kirkcaldy-registered herring drifters entering Aberdeen Harbour around 1910 to land their catches at the Fish Market.

22/08/2026

We have spaces on the Dolphin Cruises today at 2pm. To Book Call 07807 031018.