Aberdeen sits at the edge of a rich stretch of Aberdeenshire coast and farmland, and a half-day or full day out of the city can take you to nature reserves, ruined castles, and oddities of local history.
The Forvie Nature Reserve lies about 15 miles north of the city, where the River Ythan meets the sea and vast sand dunes spread north along the coast. The reserve holds one of Britain's largest eider duck colonies and a ruined medieval chapel half-buried in the dunes — a quiet, striking place well off the tourist trail.
A smaller but genuinely unusual detour is Pitfour Observatory, about 40 miles north on the A952. The octagonal tower was built in 1845 so the Laird of Pitfour could watch horse racing on his private four-and-a-half-mile course — nicknamed the "Ascot of the North." The course is long gone, but the tower survives and opens free of charge in summer. The surrounding woods contain a stone circle and a chambered cairn, making a worthwhile half-day combination.