North-East Scotland, UK

In North-East Scotland, farming as well as food and drink value chains are highly significant economically, e.g. barley crop, malting, and whisky distilling but also soft fruits. The geographic area is a focus for tourism, with cultural and historic sites of global renown, including Royal Deeside, three of the major road routes into the Cairngorms National Park, the main rail route to northern Scotland, and two of Scotland’s largest cities on its eastern flank: Aberdeen and Dundee. The influence of those cities includes rural locations of residences and businesses in support of the oil and gas industry, and associated skills. This is also reflected in micro-businesses in services, e.g. information technology and demand for artisan products complementing that of tourists.

The types of challenges the region faces are weak transport links through and between areas, weak digital connectivity, a need for human capital (contemporary skills), development of social capital (communities) and financial capital (investment). It also faces challenges of seasonal patterns of employment, e.g. in tourism and farming, and in adapting to new regulations and public policies.

This makes us unique
The area of the dynamo is a significant focal point of international tourism. Three of the tourism management areas identify the scenery and landscape as the most significant attraction. For Perthshire, 74% of visitors identified that was the principal reason for visiting, creating 924,000 visitor nights and £196m expenditure. It was the principal attraction for 50% percent of visitors to Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire with 1.34 m visitor nights and £421m expenditure, and 40% of visitors to Dundee and Angus with 367,000 visitor nights and £80m expenditure.

The drama and quality of its landscapes are reflected in arts, notably the national poet, Robert Burns, in his poem and song 'The Birks of Aberfeldy', inspired by the view of the woodlands and waterfall during his visit in 1787. Its historical and cultural heritage includes the castle of the Royal Family at Balmoral, and those of historic Scottish families at Glamis, Scone, and Blair Atholl. The Atholl Highlanders are a ceremonial infantry regiment, founded in 1777, and believed to be the only remaining private army in Europe.

The area includes two of the six regions of whiskies in Scotland, Speyside and Highland, including the oldest, Glenturret, established 1775 and smallest, Edradour.

On 10 January 1982 it was the location of the coldest temperature recorded in the UK of −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F), at Braemar, Aberdeenshire (matched in Altnaharra, Highland in 1995).