500 Years of Crime and Punishment: A Self-Guided Audio Tour
Overview
From bodysnatching and beheadings to witchcraft and whippings, we share real life stories of crime and punishment from the last 500 years on this self-guided GPS audio tour.
Along the way you’ll see major Aberdeen landmarks, from Marischal College to the Mercat Cross, and learn how they were witness to darkest chapters in the city’s history. Scot Free Tours sheds a light on the baffling and often unjust laws of the last five centuries – and reveals that past is not as far away as we think.
Thousands of people have loved our 5-star rated live tours and now you can experience them with freedom of an audio guide! The tour plays audio automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline. Start the tour in the app, put your phone in your pocket, and let us guide you around Aberdeen.
The total walking distance is 3km and takes about 45 minutes without stopping, but you can pause anytime!
Along the way you’ll see major Aberdeen landmarks, from Marischal College to the Mercat Cross, and learn how they were witness to darkest chapters in the city’s history. Scot Free Tours sheds a light on the baffling and often unjust laws of the last five centuries – and reveals that past is not as far away as we think.
Thousands of people have loved our 5-star rated live tours and now you can experience them with freedom of an audio guide! The tour plays audio automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline. Start the tour in the app, put your phone in your pocket, and let us guide you around Aberdeen.
The total walking distance is 3km and takes about 45 minutes without stopping, but you can pause anytime!
Inclusions
- Lifetime access to this tour in English
- VoiceMap app for Android and iOS
- Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: The Tolbooth Museum, Castle St, Aberdeen AB11 5BB Scotland
Now a museum, this used to be the gaol, where criminals in Aberdeen were kept. We’ll point out where public hangings used to take place as we start off our tour on crime and punishment in Aberdeen.
Pass By: Castlegate, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB23 8SH Scotland
The Mercat Cross is where public announcements would be made – and public punishment would be handed out. The structure is decorated with carvings of Scottish monarchs and we’ll be focusing on the story of one queen and how she dealt with an outbreak of treason.
Pass By: Salvation Army Citadel, Castlegate, Aberdeen Scotland
The tower of this impressive building is modelled on the one at Balmoral Castle. We’ll pass by it on the tour and it makes a great photo stop.
Pass By: St. Andrew's Cathedral, 28 King Street, Aberdeen AB24 5AX Scotland
We’ll pass through Seabury Court next to St Andrew’s Cathedral to give you a sense of the winding streets Aberdeen used to have.
Pass By: Marischal College Broad Street, Aberdeen AB10 1AB Scotland
This used to be part of the University of Aberdeen and was traditionally where medical students would study. We’ll take you round the back to the Anatomy Rooms where dissections would take place and tell you all about Aberdeen’s relationship with bodysnatchers.
Pass By: St. Nicholas Churchyard, Union Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JZ Scotland
An atmospheric graveyard, filled with lots of history. We’ll point out the grave of one doctor whose morals left a lot to be desired. You'll also see the ‘mither kirk’ of Aberdeen, which used to be the centre of early Aberdeen. Learn about horrible church punishments and how witches were imprisoned.
Pass By: The Green, The Grn, Aberdeen AB11, UK
People have been living in The Green for thousands of years – but don’t make the mistake of thinking that makes it old fashioned. It’s a small hipster enclave in Aberdeen with lots of street art and independent restaurants and shops. Here you will hear stories of the child-snatching gang that used to operate in Aberdeen.
Pass By: Aberdeen Harbour, 16 Regent Quay, Aberdeen AB11 5SS Scotland
Aberdeen grew up around its harbour - so it only makes sense that over the years it has been used for some particularly unpleasant punishments.
Pass By: Aberdeen Maritime Museum, 52-56 Shiprow Provost Ross House, Aberdeen AB11 5BY Scotland
The Maritime Museum is a delightful little museum that helps you get to grips with Aberdeen’s maritime past, from fishing to the oil industry. We pass it on our tour and there is a chance to go in and explore for yourselves.
Pass By: Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
This self-guided audio tour takes place in Aberdeen.
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: The Tolbooth Museum, Castle St, Aberdeen AB11 5BB Scotland
Now a museum, this used to be the gaol, where criminals in Aberdeen were kept. We’ll point out where public hangings used to take place as we start off our tour on crime and punishment in Aberdeen.
Pass By: Castlegate, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB23 8SH Scotland
The Mercat Cross is where public announcements would be made – and public punishment would be handed out. The structure is decorated with carvings of Scottish monarchs and we’ll be focusing on the story of one queen and how she dealt with an outbreak of treason.
Pass By: Salvation Army Citadel, Castlegate, Aberdeen Scotland
The tower of this impressive building is modelled on the one at Balmoral Castle. We’ll pass by it on the tour and it makes a great photo stop.
Pass By: St. Andrew's Cathedral, 28 King Street, Aberdeen AB24 5AX Scotland
We’ll pass through Seabury Court next to St Andrew’s Cathedral to give you a sense of the winding streets Aberdeen used to have.
Pass By: Marischal College Broad Street, Aberdeen AB10 1AB Scotland
This used to be part of the University of Aberdeen and was traditionally where medical students would study. We’ll take you round the back to the Anatomy Rooms where dissections would take place and tell you all about Aberdeen’s relationship with bodysnatchers.
Pass By: St. Nicholas Churchyard, Union Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JZ Scotland
An atmospheric graveyard, filled with lots of history. We’ll point out the grave of one doctor whose morals left a lot to be desired. You'll also see the ‘mither kirk’ of Aberdeen, which used to be the centre of early Aberdeen. Learn about horrible church punishments and how witches were imprisoned.
Pass By: The Green, The Grn, Aberdeen AB11, UK
People have been living in The Green for thousands of years – but don’t make the mistake of thinking that makes it old fashioned. It’s a small hipster enclave in Aberdeen with lots of street art and independent restaurants and shops. Here you will hear stories of the child-snatching gang that used to operate in Aberdeen.
Pass By: Aberdeen Harbour, 16 Regent Quay, Aberdeen AB11 5SS Scotland
Aberdeen grew up around its harbour - so it only makes sense that over the years it has been used for some particularly unpleasant punishments.
Pass By: Aberdeen Maritime Museum, 52-56 Shiprow Provost Ross House, Aberdeen AB11 5BY Scotland
The Maritime Museum is a delightful little museum that helps you get to grips with Aberdeen’s maritime past, from fishing to the oil industry. We pass it on our tour and there is a chance to go in and explore for yourselves.
Pass By: Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
This self-guided audio tour takes place in Aberdeen.
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- All of VoiceMap's audio tours are self-guided and users must bring their own smartphone and headphones to take the tour. We urge all our users to wear facemasks and carry hand sanitizer with them to ensure they're own protection and the protection of others.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
A3792TWlaurab
September 2021
Really impressed by how easy it is to follow the directions. Great narration and good easy walk through the city. Really enjoyed and definitely recommend if you’re not sure how to see Aberdeen. Will be trying these tours out in other cities now too!
Really impressed by how easy it is to follow the directions. Great narration and good easy walk through the city. Really enjoyed and definitely recommend if you’re not sure how to see Aberdeen. Will be trying these tours out in other cities now too!callison55476
July 2021
Really easy to download on to your phone. Very informative and professionally narrated guide. It took me to places I’ve never seen before around the Castle Gate area and the Green. All for a few pounds, so I would say great value for money.
Really easy to download on to your phone. Very informative and professionally narrated guide. It took me to places I’ve never seen before around the Castle Gate area and the Green. All for a few pounds, so I would say great value for money.198catherines
June 2021
Really enjoyed the tour, it was very informative and interesting. I love the idea of being able to go on tours more flexibly than traditional walking tours especially when time is limited. I would definitely recommend.
Really enjoyed the tour, it was very informative and interesting. I love the idea of being able to go on tours more flexibly than traditional walking tours especially when time is limited. I would definitely recommend.Vshambrook
July 2022
Fun experience walking around being told a little of the history of Aberdeen, One important note though, it uses a fair bit of phone battery running the app due to gps, make sure your phone is fully charged or have a portable charger ready, otherwise a great activity to kill a couple of hours.
Fun experience walking around being told a little of the history of Aberdeen, One important note though, it uses a fair bit of phone battery running the app due to gps, make sure your phone is fully charged or have a portable charger ready, otherwise a great activity to kill a couple of hours.Mary Lynn M
June 2022
The tour was easy to follow, and we could go off the beaten path whenever we wanted to, we particularly enjoyed walking through the St Nicholas cemetery, but the Tolbooth museum was closed, so I was disappointed that we couldn’t go in, also since this is in a busy downtown area I would not recomm...
The tour was easy to follow, and we could go off the beaten path whenever we wanted to, we particularly enjoyed walking through the St Nicholas cemetery, but the Tolbooth museum was closed, so I was disappointed that we couldn’t go in, also since this is in a busy downtown area I would not recommend taking this tour alone nor if you have difficulty walking as there are many stairs and cobblestone walkways that could be challenging786mandyw
October 2021
As a couple, on a short break, we enjoyed this tour , it took us to places we wouldn’t have gone without the tour, but as it’s self guided we were able to go at our own pace, we probably would have stopped off at the maritime museum but it was closed we did however stop near the end at the Stoble...
As a couple, on a short break, we enjoyed this tour , it took us to places we wouldn’t have gone without the tour, but as it’s self guided we were able to go at our own pace, we probably would have stopped off at the maritime museum but it was closed we did however stop near the end at the Stoble museum which was free and interactive, will do another tour with this company, Thanks