What's hidden beneath Aberdeen's Union Street?

[@a.berdeen6160]

Very informative, nice video. I well remember being in Sir Laffalots when a brawl broke out (in the 1980s I guess). A proper brawl, with things thrown and men jumping over tables to get at one another. I didn't hang around, I was out that door like a scalded cat. It always wis a ruff place. Should have been called "Laffalot and I'll take the smile aff yer face". Cheers.

[@PlasticScot]

This is good stuff mate, good to see other creators from Aberdeen!

[@duthies]

Thanks! Likewise - cool channel!

[@Urbexy]

Really well researched and illustrated. Everyone should be interested in local history. Amazing just how much has been lost.

[@duthies]

Thanks! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spotted something odd on the street just to find a fascinating story behind it years later. That really sparked an interest for me and I hope to share some of that enthusiasm. Your channel looks really interesting I’ve bookmarked a few vids to check out later - thanks for commenting!

[@Urbexy]

@@duthies Totaly agree. You often see remains and later find out what they once were. The National Library of Scotland maps are incredible for laying old maps and current maps side by side and seeing what an area was once like.

[@Perthshire]

Many moons ago, I worked at the Clydesdale Bank and I had to visit the Castlegate HQ in the early 90s. I had heard of these vaults and I asked the manager about them. He took me down into the basement, though a few doors and I saw a door which went through to the area under Union Street. He said that there is indeed a lot of space under there, but it is arches to support the road above. As you would expect, it is not possible to gain access to any other properties such as Brew Dog and the Court buildings. But there most certainly is space under that section of Union Street. I wonder if a word with the manager of Spoon's nowadays would bring a wee tour? By the way, Glasgow city centre is full of such underground vaults. I have seen evidence of that myself in Renfield Street. Great video by the way. Thoroughly well researched and presented. Well done ☺️

[@Corkedwolf43771]

I worked in the Monkey House years ago theres a set of stairs going underground a hidden sizable unseen space lies underneath it joins onto the hotel on Union terrace leads onto the Union terrace gardens and a direction goes off towards Boots all underneath your feet and you wouldn't know I remember the walls in the Monkey house you could go between as well in the basement a couple of entrances were hidden in the cleaners cupboards some long time sealed that went in unacessable curious directions. None of this was mentioned in this vid???

[@thepinuppt]

Born and raised in Aberdeen and never knew any of this!! Simply fascinating

[@duthies]

Thanks Rockabilly in China - I learned a lot making it!

[@caveatrotters3324]

Most Aberdonians have never even been in the art gallery in their lives.

[@MrWorrol]

As someone who’s lived in Aberdeen for 5 years I’ve always wondered about this. I actually live on the green and we have a door in our building that leads you into one of theses chambers. It’s pitch black in there but definitely an infesting thing to see. If I’d known about this channel would of let you come in to see it

[@stevethom4329]

Hi can I see it!

[@Yimadbast]

Geez a deek!

[@caveatrotters3324]

Infesting doesn't sound good.

[@Sssssssslf]

@@caveatrotters3324 🤣

[@SamWatsonTV]

Thanks for another great video on Aberdeen history! You should collaborate with the Uni.

[@duthies]

Thank you Sam :)

[@professorpodcast3029]

Very interesting video, brilliant mix of comedy and education

[@duthies]

Cheers tyler_scotsman_Albannach! Really glad you enjoyed!

[@jaxthedog909]

You call that comedy seriously. ?

[@SHEARWATER7-rm1ph]

Hi, I love your delivery I'm fae Aberdeen, but I moved 30 years ago, and it's really interesting watching you cut about the streets. What are you filming with as the production is so high quality?

[@duthies]

Hi @SHEARWATER7-rm1ph - many thanks for the compliments - I really like visually documenting what I'm talking about, when I started reading local history books I always wanted to get up and go to wherever they were physically writing about and see what's there now - but it wasn't always clear where things used to be. One of the aims of my videos is to show people exactly where this history happened through current photos and maps so they can visit themselves and hopefully be inspired like I was. Stills are taken on a Nikon D600 and video either on same or my old iPhone 7. I think all the footage in this video was taken with the iPhone. I probably wouldn't recommend picking up the D600 for video work as it uses line skipping - you'll see moire in the footage of St Machar's Cathedral in my "Ancient Chronicle" video. Newer cameras are usually designed with more of a video focus than they were in 2012, but it's still an excellent stills camera by todays standard... if you're happy cleaning your own sensor (an oil spatter issue was fixed in the later D610).

[@SHEARWATER7-rm1ph]

Thanks for your reply. I wouldn't have guessed iPhone must be a framerate thing. I have tried anamorphic lenses, a gimbal, ect and didn't achieve the movie look you achieve, @@duthies

[@duthies]

​@@SHEARWATER7-rm1ph I've just taken a look at the original files - the timelapse footage was taken with the iPhone and no grading applied - but the non-timelapse footage was taken on a grey overcast day on the D600. For the latter I used the Neutral profile with reduced contrast (-3) and saturation (-1) in-camera to give me a bit more latitude for grading and in post reduced the offset in all the clips, sometimes adding back in a bit of contrast or gain depending on the individual clip. Lens was 14mm (full frame), framerate 30fps but the final video rendered in 24p. Hope that's useful!

[@SHEARWATER7-rm1ph]

Very helpfull thanks for taking the time Graeme@@duthies

[@YubelMalevolent]

Sonic music and an Ayreon reference? You sir have definitely earned my viewership

[@duthies]

Ah a man of culture I see!

[@IScreamer]

Great stuff. Well done loon.

[@duthies]

Many thanks IScreamer!

[@foolsgold953]

Good video 👌🏼 In the early to mid 90's I made pattern parts for the foundry to make iron replacement bits during the refurbishment of the Subway air vent. It was so good to see and be a small part in the transformation from the bill poster and graffiti eyesore to the lovely ornate bright coloured monument to Victorian style and design

[@duthies]

That’s well cool foolsgold953 - it’s a beautiful feature in a part of the town that doesn’t get much love these days!

[@johnvanbeek5671]

wow, just found this video. We lived in Aberdeen from 1987 till 1994 in cloggy hill. My youngest son Max was born in there. We love Aberdeen.

[@duthies]

Thanks for your comment John - the high street has gone a bit downhill since you were here last but I still think it's a nice city!

[@MrG77]

I have always heard about how the old Union Street is under the existing one and apparently there is still shops from back years ago that just closed there doors and left the inside as was. But never been able to find any pictures or details of it.🙏

[@duthies]

Yeah - those stories are a pile of mince - and are pretty much what inspired me to make the video. There was no old Union Street. The map at 5:15 shows where any shops might have been - only on Back Wynd and Correction Wynd, and you can see they would have been part of larger blocks that are long gone from either side, replaced with the green or the graveyard. I seem to remember glimpsing an artists impression of old Putachieside but I can't seem to find it again (no it's not the image you can easily google with the Wallace Tower) - but you can easily go into the nightclub opposite the Tunnels today ( 8:41 ) and clearly see there's no remnants of old shops :)

[@LennixAlexander]

If the trinity shopping centre was never constructed, it would certainly give us a great view of the northside of Aberdeen railway station today. Even then, I'm glad they decided to extend the centre in the 1980s as the northside of the station after being rationalised with most of the roofing ripped off looked like a massive eyesore.

[@duthies]

Agree - short sighted in retrospect, we could have had great plans for preserving a good view, and saved money on those iron braces if the route is ultimately to be pedestrianised. But at the time it made sense - shopping centres were a great boon in their day.

[@DarkKnight6six6]

So weird seeing pictures of union street that still have the wooden things on the street, or with the market not demolished yet!

[@duthies]

Yeah these videos started as a lockdown project for me - the photos are going to age in a weird way.

[@leighirvine]

Thoroughly enjoyed this!! Thanks so much for sharing!! Don’t think I’ve ever subscribed to a channel faster! ❤ I was born in Aberdeen in ‘83 and lived there until 2006 when I moved out the road to Ellon and have been in Aberdeenshire since, I knew quite a bit of the history of Aberdeen but found this absolutely fascinating!! Thanks also for clarifying what that god awful pillar is down Holborn Junction 😂 I’ve wondered my entire life 😂 Great video mate, away to watch some more! ☺️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 P.s bravo on the Sonic music 😂👌👏

[@duthies]

Thanks for the kind comments @leighirvine!

[@MikeDuguid]

I've been underneath some of the areas discussed. Adelphi lane has a series of old brick vaulted chambers following the lane. I made my way through other chambers heading west and ended up looking through a hole into the car park arches underneath the market (first image in the video). I also saw a rusty old ladder heading down a hole deeper but it was filled with rubble. There were some quaint old spiral staircases with cast iron bits that had been chopped off above by a concrete floor.

[@MikeDuguid]

Another interesting bit is the old masonic temple behind Drakes. It also had another level below that had old masonry and 'window' arches which suggest it was ground level at some point in time.

[@duthies]

That makes sense about Adelphi lane - the foundations of the buildings on either side would go down some way so it makes sense that something must be propping up the lane! By masons temple are you referring to the Oh Henrys building? Sounds exciting exploring those old vaults I’m a bit jealous (but probably wouldn’t be brave enough to be brutally honest)

[@MikeDuguid]

I learned a quick lesson that day about underground exploration: I'd bought a cheap torch from the market earlier. After an hour down in the vaults, and a fair maze of passageways away from the start point, torch suddenly went out. Was an interesting trip back inching along the floor through the cobwebs and muck using the backlight of an old nokia illuminating a square foot. The masonic temple would have been at the back of the beer cellars for Oh Henrys. There were granite pillars and carved 'runes' on wall panels. I was at a open doors day years later and visited the main aberdeen masonic temple and mentioned it to an old chap welcoming visitors, he was surprised I'd seen it and that it still existed, it had apparently been closed off many decades previously and most of their members had never seen it

[@Tseringlhatso]

I work in Belmont Street: from our basement an underground passage heads along for maybe 50 ft in the direction of Union Street. Then sadly it comes to a bricked-off wall.

[@duthies]

Interesting stuff Tseringlhatso - I noticed something similar in the Monkey House, down where the toilets are - but you turn so many corners to get there I lose my sense of direction can't be sure if it's under Union Street or not lol

[@Tseringlhatso]

@@duthies The building is 37 Belmont Street: it was built before Union Street, as a large house with gardens at the back and extending down to the Den Burn. There's an engraving somewhere of the original frontage: a high double staircase led up to to the door. When the level of Belmont Street was raised, this was replaced with a much shorter straight stair, and then later still when the building became a commercial property, the twin window spaces were added. Weirdly, the building has it's own postcode!

[@duthies]

@@Tseringlhatso Just took a quick look on Google Maps - I'd never noticed before but now you mention it - it's quite obvious the way the [now basement] windows are half blocked by the street, and the brickwork at the side disappears under the tarmac as it rises to street level. I always assumed that Belmont Street was above ground level that it's straddled between 2 viaducts at each end - but I didn't realise it had been raised from an earlier level!

[@Aiysha17]

​@@Tseringlhatso isn't that Duncan and Todd?

[@Skinhead-201]

As a Kincorth loon, I found this very interesting. I remember Sir Laffalots well but then I did trawl the Hotel Metro and Happy Valley for a trap back then😁

[@duthies]

Sadly Laffalots was before my time - the Metro was still there when I was a student but it wasn't on our regular routes, always piqued my interest whenever I passed it. I did enjoy many a band of widely varying quality in drakes though. Since the Malt Mill shut there's really nowhere else like it now.

[@John-iq4cj]

Is the Metro where folk used to go to grab a granny? 😅

[@Skinhead-201]

@@John-iq4cj Not so much grab a granny for me but more like somebody elses wife😁. A few places in the toon had grab a granny night, usually on a Wednesday. Easy pickin's

[@JPOwantstoknow65]

Being from Chicago, what exactly is grab a granny night?!? Cracking me up, is it a "cougar" as in a 40 to 60 yr old divorced woman???

[@Skinhead-201]

@@JPOwantstoknow65 Pretty much but not restricted to 60 years old.😁🤣🤣

[@robbiethepict2783]

I worked underneath Adelphi street in the 80's. We found caverns that reached to the Castlegate with Templar artifacts, and the site was closed till some auld blokes came and took it away.

[@Andrononymous]

You deserve a lot more subscribers, very interesting!

[@duthies]

Thanks An. Schw. L.홋! Subscriber count seems to be increasing daily which is nice to see :)

[@johnbrown3951]

I read the comment about the Castlegate Clydesdale Bank. I worked there in the early 90's and never new about the tunnels but it was a maze in the basement there. Interesting film I shared it with family members in Banchory and subscribed. Being based in central Scotland now it brings back memories of schooling at Robert Gordons College in the late 70's. Now I feel old.

[@duthies]

Thanks for the sub John! RGC usually takes part in Aberdeen Open Day and run tours - so if you ever fancy seeing the old place again you should pop up (whenever these sort of things start running again)!

[@johnbrown3951]

@@duthies That's a good tip that I wasn't aware of. I will need to do that when the world gets back on it axis.

[@anzilshereef9445]

Very interesting video. Is that 14th century building frontage is still there??

[@duthies]

Thanks! Bit of ambiguity as I've looked further into it as to whether it's in it's original form or was rebuilt from a 14th century wall. It's mostly still there. The building behind it was demolished to make way for the Iveagh Lodge (Ivy Lodge?) outdoor pub.

[@ALIKN1-1]

Amazing mate 👍

[@duthies]

thanks @ALIKN!

[@rehehe2023]

What was the shopping complex called in the 70s that eventually became the Trinity Centre and what shops were there?

[@duthies]

Not a shopping complex - just a line of shops. They were built in 1963 and colloquially known as "The Shargar Shoppies" - additional development in the back of these which were completed in 1984 resulted in the Trinity Shopping Centre. I think it was called "The Mall" for a while in the 2000s but has since reverted to the Trinity Centre. Diane Morgan's book The Granite Mile, which I highly recommend, has the full story including pictures of construction and what the shops originally looked like in the 60s (virtually identical except for the canopies) and some of the similar schemes which thankfully didn't go ahead for the North side of the bridge. The photo I'm looking at in the book shows the shops in the late 70s/early 80s just before the construction of the shopping centre - the shops are Pizza Hut, Dorothy Perkins, Birthdays and Freeman Hardy Willis

[@R3troguy]

Ooh, at 13:18 I can just about see my loft bed in one of the windows above the pub! Quite a noisy street, but a wonderful location to live in.

[@duthies]

Wish I could get more time in the Stag - but it's always so busy! Great part of town - spent a lot of my younger nights out just down the brae in Moshulu and Bassment.

[@stevemacbeath]

Fascinating, so well put igethir!

[@duthies]

Thanks Steve!

[@Kaikuma181]

Just found your channel. Great video, love learning about my hometown! As for the tunnels underneath the tunnels, I'd definitely like to know more about stuff like the culverting of the Denburn and the route that it took through the city, as we've still got fragmented remnants of it open to the air e.g where Upper Denburn joins Jack's Brae. I'd particularly want to know where the culvert ends and if it empties into the docks or the Dee

[@duthies]

Don't know if you noticed but I left a link to the urbex in the video descriptioon - they follow it all the way to the harbour and the outpipe on the banks of the dee: www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/aberdeen-darkie-the-hole-burn-aberdeen-scotland.115607/ There's another great urbex of it with some additional photos here: www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/aberdeen-darkie-february-2019.117166/ I believe that it still runs through the denburn valley under the dual carriageway - I once found a photograph of the carriageway being constructed and it showed a channel of water being made underneath - sadly I've never been able to find it again. From there my best guess is guild street then down market street as it ends up underneath the harbour. Not brave enough to venture down myself with a GPS logger to find out!

[@Kaikuma181]

@@duthies Oh I actually missed that. Thanks for the links, exactly what I was looking for. Super interesting. You and me both, I'll leave the exploring to them!

[@Svvithred]

Thanks for this very fascinating and informative video! I very much enjoyed it and much to my shame, I have never been, even though I absolutely need to. My grandfather's mother was from Aberdeenshire and spent a big part of her childhood in Aberdeen before she began her career as a matron and moved to Essex. Two of her older brothers were very well known in and around Aberdeen. The oldest was called John Robert McDonald who was port missionary there and the other brother was Lt-Col Samuel McDonald, who was a very highly decorated war hero and his last post up until his death was deputy Sheriff of Aberdeen, he even has his own display in the Gordon Highlanders museum.

[@duthies]

When the whole Covid thing is over you should :) but I'd make a holiday out of it maybe stop by Edinburgh or Glasgow on your way up - or if you like whisky use Aberdeen as a stopover on your way to Speyside - or on your way to the Lecht if you're into Skiing. I really like Aberdeen and there's more stuff to do here than folk generally realise, but there's still not *that* much for the tourist. Aberdeenshire has some great attractions too (lots of castles, one of which was a famous Windows 7 background), a car (hire) holiday might be a good idea if you want to check out those.

[@carolinetarrant2486]

I enjoyed that. I grew up in neighbouring towns and lived there some years. I left 20 years ago. I barely remember any of those street names. Tell you what though, when i lived there i remember being astonished how many kirk steeples you could see in close proximity.... All been converted to bars now as theyd started to back when i lived there. And i made a day of going round all the statues to read the plaques. But im glad im not there. It rains where i am just the same but the buildings are made of yellow stones..much brighter

[@Th3_Gael]

Love these videos. Hope to see more

[@duthies]

Thanks Celly - hoping to make more soon!

[@caroledonald1960]

I discovered doing my family tree that my grt grt grt grandfather lived at the green about 1820. He was a tinsmith and was buried at Saint Clements church in 1835. There seemed to be a market at the green in those days. Fascinating history. Coyr!

[@duthies]

There are a lot of graves from around that period still on display in the grounds of St Clements Kirk - if you ever wanted to find his grave and have never been, I recommend going sooner than later. There's not a lot of upkeep there these days and a lot of the stones are starting to fade, fall over, and even collapse. Fortunately the grounds aren't that big so you shouldn't have to search for too long.

[@caroledonald1960]

@@duthies thanks but I've searched the graveyard and there's no stone. I found some info on the internet. He was called David ledingham. I think the family was too poor for a headstone but thanks again.🤔🤔

[@caveatrotters3324]

You could Google "markets at the green Aberdeen." You're welcome.

[@ernestchadwell9069]

The Green is where white slaves were held before being shipped to America to pick cotton or west indies to pick sugar cane. Their cages were located in a building on the right hand side at the base of the staircase leading from union street. The local politicians, magistrates, businessmen etc were all invol in the kidnapping of locals from Aberdeen streets in broad daylight.

[@animovie1]

Awesome video. You've earned a subscriber!

[@duthies]

thanks animovie1

[@hannahemilyross]

So interesting, great video 👌

[@duthies]

Cheers Han!

[@Lambonights]

Sim City 2000! Instantly recognised the tune! :D

[@milandavida5004]

Class video. Keep up the good work!

[@duthies]

Thanks Milán!

[@caveatrotters3324]

One of the good things about down there is that you don't run into Aberdonians.

[@Pik871229]

That makes me think of Edinburgh vaults under the South Bridge

[@duthies]

Yeah I get similar vibes. If only we also had a Bannermans and a Piemaker.

[@Labiadore]

Thank you, very interesting

[@duthies]

Thanks Reggie!

[@StevieVB]

Hello. This reminds me, I managed to get access to some of the caverns under union street a few years ago. I will have to get these online as other than the security guard and a few other workers over the years no one has seen it. (They are quite deep as well. The area I went to was at the denburn road level but still above where the denburn would be... I think!)

[@duthies]

That'd be well cool to see, please post back if you get them on line!

[@InkPot-bg2hg]

Hi, I'm really interested in this, are they still accessible? I'm writing a research paper for uni and access to this would be amazing! Do you know how I could go about it?

[@StevieVB]

Hello @@InkPot-bg2hg , sadly they are not accessible. The tunnels are owned by SSE now and they make sure they are kept locked. The part of the tunnel on Crown Street runs directly above the sewers, so its probably not a good idea for people to go on, and I think the part that runs from crown st to Holburn St is still used as a cable run.

[@theflyingscotsman9902]

Interesting ! My parents grew up in Aberdeen . My. Mom lived on Black Friar street ,which I believe the homes there are gone . It was next to the war memorial , the big granite lion .

[@duthies]

Oh those houses are long gone I'm afraid - nothing on that street now but Robert Gordon's College buildings. There was only ever one side to that street with houses, the other side has changed shape dramatically with the dual carriageway being built. Your mum's houses (probably) on the left: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/770678554959684829/ The same angle now, albeit from a lower angle as the brae was dug out, your only landmark in common between the images is the church spire: www.google.com/maps/@57.148355,-2.1038315,3a,75y,133.86h,103.15t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWnayF9c7lAiwS3gdwVWumw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[@duthies]

Contd... Here's another, newer (1950s) photo from the same area, looking the other way: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/470204017341134502/ The buildings in the centre are gone, but you can still see the rounded structure on the gable end of Woolmanhill Hospital on the left, the red bricked factory in the distance, and on the right Robert Gordons College with St Andrews St building at the end of the street: www.google.com/maps/@57.1484054,-2.103615,3a,32.7y,330.72h,92.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjWjaGEF_CnoPot23EHHOZg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[@devilfcm]

Grat video, so were are those tunnels? ? ;]

[@duthies]

hi @devilfcm - which ones? I cover a few in the video. Thanks for the comment!

[@devilfcm]

@@duthies thre is somehing?! Its too may closed places...

[@redblossom4117]

Haha love how I am watching this fea the beach!

[@RamblingRose777]

The tunnels are more extensive than were led to believe, I was in part of them in the late seventies

[@petes3011]

Fantasic job duthies

[@duthies]

Thanks @petes3011!

[@harrisonbarbour9850]

Amazing video

[@duthies]

Many thanks Harrison!

[@Mouse2113]

Loved the video. Dr Drakes was a regular haunt of mine

[@duthies]

I miss it! Krakatoa and Drummonds are great for what they are but Aberdeen didn’t really have anywhere else like Drakes!

[@billstuart9394]

interesting stuff - i also watched your one on the ancient road into Aberdeen = it always bothered me that the footbridge over railway at foot of windmill brae is now closed off when car park closed = public right of way ??? - this wasn't always the case though thru 80s as could be used as 2am shortcut home from clubs etc - or to windmill brae - I d imagine its use as a late night latrine / muggers paradise may have trumped the use of this ancient right of way ...... i also remember using the old steel pedestrian bridge in late 70s early 80s on way to Allans toy shop in Market St.

[@duthies]

The puffin briggie? Sadly I never saw it in person. It must have been interesting in it’s own right - preserving a right of way over the railway. I don’t actually know for certain if it is a right of way but even in such matters I think the public safety takes priority. How that translates to Covid I have absolutely no idea however! I would very much like to see the route through the car park open again. Also I think the law in Scotland may be slightly different to England. I should really look into this at some point.

[@kevgiles4645]

Haha great video and humour 👍🏻

[@duthies]

Cheers Kev!

[@nikeventus]

very interesting!

[@duthies]

Thanks Nikita

[@John-iq4cj]

I used to love Dr Drakes! why did it shut down?

[@duthies]

Afraid I have no idea! The guy with the slick back hair who always used to be in the ticket booth - I think he still does band promotions - or did for a while after they closed anyway - I used to bump into him in the tunnels regularly for a while. Place was probably a death trap in the event of a fire tbf.

[@craigarmstrong1958]

I used to have access to one of the vaults seen in the sketch on the east side of the bridge. Have a few good photos of what they look like if you were interested. Send me your email and I will happily attach all I have. The size of them is actually quite surprisingly large. Good video interesting stuff.

[@duthies]

Hi Craig - yes I’d be very interested to see those! Not keen on putting my email on here as it’s public but do you have a facebook account I could message you on? There’s a few Craig Armstrongs in Aberdeen. Thanks for the comment!

[@InkPot-bg2hg]

Hi Craig, I'm currently writing a research paper for uni about underground architecture in Aberdeen, and I would be really interested in this! Would you be able to send them to me please, and if so, could I use them in my dissertation? Many thanks

[@theo-so1tr]

Love this Duthies!

[@duthies]

Thanks Theo!

[@thecrimsondragon9744]

The Chamber of Secrets, obviously!

[@Tom-jt9ec]

Love the SC2000 intro music! 😅👍

[@duthies]

Remastered on a MT-32 emulator - just to mix things up a bit :)

[@rubusroo68]

Didn't Aberdeen almost go bankrupt during the construction of Union St 🤔

[@duthies]

That's correct! The story of the street's inception and construction can be found in one of Diane Morgan's books - either Lost Aberdeen or The Granite Mile - I can't remember off the top of my head. Recommend them both!

[@Lala_Harvz]

Brilliant.

[@duthies]

Thanks!

[@stevethom4329]

You forgot about the Green Goddess which is hitten also

[@duthies]

What's that? All I can find is a reference to a steam engine

[@stevethom4329]

@@duthies hidded between the denburn and the green is a green Goddess which was put there during the cold War. The fire brigade still inspect it and keep it in clean fuel incase it is needed.

[@duthies]

@@stevethom4329 Got any links to any information about it? I'm familiar with the area can't remember seeing any fuel tanks.

[@stevethom4329]

@@duthies I will try and find some information, it was a fireman when I worked at the old king street station I heard it from, Green Goddess are Fire Engines. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Goddess

[@sakurakuro2417]

Nooo! I was hyped for secret underground tunnels and spookiness, and it was all a lie. :'(

[@duthies]

I have become clickbait scum. NGL the skeleton was photoshopped in too!

[@stevehamilton5430]

Well I’m sure the masons have access to all these creepy caverns.

[@duthies]

Oddly enough I noticed the other day that the cable subway comes suspiciously close to the Mason's temple on Crown Street. Hmm....

[@MultiZero1968]

An old boyfriend is a fireman. The fireman do training down in these chambers.

[@ernestchadwell9069]

The Green is where white slaves were held before being shipped to America to pick cotton or west indies to pick sugar cane. Their cages were located in a building on the right hand side at the base of the staircase leading from union street. The local politicians, magistrates, businessmen etc were all involved in the kidnapping of locals from Aberdeen streets in broad daylight. Tunnels have been used to conduct cargo one would rather keep hidden, from place to place. Churches are also connected to the hidden highways. This is not speculation, but we may speculate on what is shipped unseen these days via this system.

[@duthies]

If you're interested in the slave trade in Aberdeen I highly recommend looking up the story of Peter Williamson - the Wikipedia article is dry but tells the story competently - but I'm sure you'd find a better telling of it with research en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Williamson_(memoirist) If these "highways" are not speculation I'd be interested to see your sources for this information.

[@seanshure]

Eh but what about the mysterious tunnels under Dundee huh huh ?

[@duthies]

Not brave enough to explore there! Even if I were though, then I'd have to find the tunnels! :D

[@professorpodcast3029]

@@duthies I believe that he is referring to the old vaults under the former Exchange Building on what is now Shore Terrece Car Park

[@eweunkettles8207]

the old dundee newtyle railway at the law hill area

[@georgemaxwell3030]

This will not be sturgeon's favourite St

[@duthies]

Very little outside the central belt seems to be of much interest to anyone in Hollyrood sadly.

[@turboduckhead6179]

@@duthies Very little outside the central belt, except the rest of the world, who can come here and start calling themselves Scottish.. Except from the English.

[@stoneauthor]

Dr Drakes? Made me laugh, club 2k or club 2000. 🤣 perfect.

[@john-ic5pz]

lol... what's buried under Union Street? Jimmy Hoffa! (a USA shipping union (the teamsters) joke)

[@paulahamilton7290]

It seems like Aberdeen has destroyed a lot of its history and beauty!

[@duthies]

History has shown this to happen again and again, all we can do is preserve what we have left as best we can. A good observation Paula thanks for commenting.

[@caveatrotters3324]

Lol, it's mostly intact and what was knocked down was mostly slum.

[@thecoopjaxthedog4227]

In the old days you could leave your door unlocked NOT today place is full of smakheads and crackheads getting worse every year and the councils answer to improvements build a new harbour.

[@HellRainGod]

yet it would be under the north sea, whr it belongs, Aberdeen city destroyed by council liars and others, THEY HAVE A NERVE WITH ULEZ, WHEN UNION STREET AND SEATON, MAJORITY OF KING STREET SHOULD BE NORTH SEA'S

[@petergeraghty4176]

What a dissapointment. !!! 😞

[@duthies]

Hey Peter - always happy to hear feedback - what did you find dissapointing?

[@Εχετλαίος83]

What about Doric dialect? What about the word (adelphi) ? Adelphi in Greek or better in hellinic language is sister . Or Delphi from delpous in greece What about Scotland the land of scotos. Scotos is meaning in Greek or better in hellinic language darkness or dark. ? 😉 All of Scottish people came from Greece. If like it or if you don't like it 🤷

[@duthies]

I was actually considering doing a video in my native doric tongue :) - but it might have to be a short one - I’d have to generate subtitles for everyone who won’t understand me 😂

[@Εχετλαίος83]

@@duthies Yes i understand that. But also your mission is to open the eyes to the people who need to know where they are from. If I tell you that the 80% of Scottish people and specially the north are Greek they will laugh with that. 😊😉

[@duthies]

@@Εχετλαίος83 Scotlands population is pretty much anglo saxons from England, vikings from Scandinavia and and gaels from Ireland - as far as I’m aware all trace their roots back to the Western cradle (which is geographically around where Greece and it’s surrounding countries are today) like most of western civilisation. That’s my understanding at least.

[@robokill387]

@@duthies also picts, which were a native britonic people closely related to the Welsh and lived in what is now Aberdeenshire and Moray.

[@AndyGibsonTV]

Crediting yourself as "me" is rather childish and amateur-like.

[@duthies]

It's a joke and not a real credit role at all - actual citations are in the video description :) I don't usually bother with "credits" in a video unless I'm putting something in after them as a gag. And you're correct I am very much an amateur and make no pretence to the contrary. Making this series was an exercise in learning all aspects of video creation for me.