Scotland pubs and cafes, restaurants and bars will be able to serve people outdoors – in groups of up to 6 from 3 households – until 10pm from 26 April.
Alcohol will be permitted in Scotland Pubs, and there will be no requirement for food to be served.
There could be limited indoor opening of hospitality from 26 April too.
This will be limited initially to the service of food and non-alcoholic drinks until 8pm, and for groups of up to four people from no more than 2 households.
All remaining retail premises are expected to re-open on 26 April.
All tourist accommodation will be able to re-open, subject to any restrictions.
Libraries, museums and galleries will also reopen from 26 April.
Indoor gyms will also reopen for individual exercise on that date.
Monday 5 April will see the beginning of the phased re-opening of non essential retail.
Click and collect retail services will be permitted to reopen, along with homeware stores, and car showrooms and forecourts.
Garden centres will also be able to reopen on 5 April
Hairdresser and barber salons to reopen for appointments on 5 April.
Indoor meeting from 17 May
Up to four people from two household can socialise indoors in a private home or public space from 17 May.
Hospitality venues can open until 10:30 pm indoors (alcohol permitted, 2-hour dwell time) and 10:00 pm outdoors (alcohol permitted)
Outdoor adult contact sport and indoor group exercise can restart.
Cinemas, amusement arcades, and bingo halls can open.
Small-scale outdoor and indoor events can resume subject to capacity constraints.
St Olafs Well, a natural spring, now enclosed within a rectangular concrete wall, 2.5m by 2.0m, a little mark where it is.
St Olafs Well stay in sand dunes at Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire
On the Buchan coast of Aberdeenshire, Cruden Bay stay to the North of the Bay of Cruden near the mouth of the Water of Cruden, 7 miles (11 km) south of Peterhead.
This is said to be the site of a battle where King Malcolm II of Scotland defeated the Danes in 1012, giving rise to the name – ‘Croju Dane’ meaning slaughter of the Danes.
Malcolm buried the dead of his opponents with honour and built a chapel to mark the spot, dedicated to St. Olaf (Olaus).
St.Olafs Well is an ancient site of pilgrimage amongst the sand dunes at Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire.
Cruden Bay Beach
The nearby beach was the site of a great battle between the Viking army of Prince Canute and the Scots army under King Malcolm the Second of Scotland.
I wanted to share some information about the site to make people feel more comfortable about visiting.
Community testing allows for early identification of outbreaks and reassures you that you can safely go about your essential duties.
If you are an employer, encouraging your staff to be tested can give you peace of mind, at no cost to your business.
If you are already being offered testing, e.g. teachers, but are apprehensive, we will guide you through the process and hopefully give you the confidence to test at home in the future.
Our Peterhead Community Test Centre is based in the Rescue Hall on Prince Street and is open 8.00AM – 7.30PM every day, including weekends, until at least late May.
Anyone who lives/works/studies/shops in Peterhead and the surrounding area can come along up to twice a week for a self administered lateral flow test, which obtains results in less than an hour.
Being tested counts as essential travel, but we encourage you to visit as part of another essential journey, such as before a grocery shop or at school drop off.
Morven Jane | Peterhead Community Test CentrePeterhead Community Test Centre
All ages are welcome, but those aged 12-17 should have consent from a guardian and those under 12 must have a guardian with them to assist with the swabbing process.
If you need additional support, you can come along with other members of your household support bubble, such as a carer or translator (although we do have translation facilities available).
Peterhead Community Test Centre
Please note that staff cannot administer any swab test. To be eligible for testing you must not have any coronavirus symptoms (new persistent cough, fever, loss of change in taste or smell), have had a coronavirus vaccine in the last 3 days, or have tested positive for Covid in the last 90 days.
In addition, avoid eating or drinking anything in the half hour before you carry out the test.
On arrival we will take your name and a contact telephone number (only used if your test is positive, and destroyed at the end of each day).
Scanning a QR code opens the website where you will register your test – staff are on hand to assist with this if needed and tablets are available for those without a smartphone.
The form is quite long, but there’s no rush – you will be asked to stand on one of the socially distanced crosses while you complete it.
After registration, you will be taken to one of three testing booths where an operative will guide you through the swabbing process. Once seated, you may remove your mask and blow your nose.
Open the swab packet AT THE HANDLE END, just enough to pull the swab out.
Swipe the (tiny – see photo!) swab over each tonsil 4 times, taking care not to let the swab touch anything else (hands, table, tongue, teeth, etc.) then rotate the same swab inside one nostril 10 times (only going up until you feel resistance).
Insert the swab (swab end first) into the tube provided, then put your mask back on and wipe down your booth. You will leave the test centre following the one way system, where someone will provide you with an information leaflet. Your test result will be registered after 30 minutes and a text/email automatically sent to you.
Only if you do not have easy access to either of these may you wait in the centre to receive your result.In the unlikely event your result is positive, staff at the centre will contact you to arrange for PCR tests to be sent for all members of your household.
You and all in your household (including in extended household) MUST go home immediately and self isolate. If your PCR tests are negative, you may end your self isolation. A major misconception about community testing is that it is designed to increase the number of positive cases.
Undoubtedly some asymptomatic positive cases will be detected that would not have otherwise, however detecting these prevents them from spreading it to others, causing more positive cases in the following weeks. In addition, by testing asymptomatic individuals, the percentage of positive tests will likely decrease as most at the site will receive a negative result.
I hope this has reassured people who are apprehensive about being tested and highlighted the importance of community testing.
Peterhead Producers Market planned for Saturday 3/4/21.
Will be the first market since highly successful launch in November 2020, Rediscover Peterhead is delighted to confirm that the Peterhead Producers’ Market planned for Saturday 03/04/2021.
This market will focus on Food and Drink and Peterhead Producers’ Market would urge any businesses who are interested in taking part to get in touch as soon as possible.
First market in November was really successful, with a number of traders commenting that it was their best ever trading day at any market.
Peterhead Producers Market in November 2020
Priority will be given to those who supported first event and then on a first come first basis with the emphasis being very much on local Scottish produce.
The pitch fee is £40 which includes a fully assembled stall, if required.
Market stall fees have been subsidised by Rediscover Peterhead with the support of funding from Aberdeenshire Council and the NESFLAG Coastal Communities Challenge Fund.
Peterhead Producers’ Market Will be working hard to ensure a well organised and safe market with a one-way system in operation.
One-Way System
For further information and bookings, please contact Alasdair who is our market operator – alasdair.boyne@outlook.com
Dracula castle is widely acknowledged is Slains Castle near Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire having inspired Bram Stoker to write world-famous novel Dracula.
Abraham “Bram” Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author, best known today for his 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.
There are many stories about how Bram Stoker came to write Dracula, but only some of them are true. According to his son, Stoker always claimed the inspiration for the book came from a nightmare induced.
Stoker was a regular visitor to Cruden Bay in Scotland between 1893 and 1910. His month-long holidays to the Aberdeenshire coastal village provided a large portion of available time for writing his books.
Slains Castle, Cruden Bay
Two novels were set in Cruden Bay: The Watter’s Mou’ (1895) and The Mystery of the Sea (1902).
He started writing Dracula here in 1895 while in residence at the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel.
Kilmarnock Arms Hotel, Cruden Bay (Port Erroll) Picture: Bram Stoker’s Signiture in hotel Guest Book
The guest book with his signatures from 1894 and 1895 still survives.
The nearby Castle (also known as New Slains Castle, Dracula Castle) is linked with Bram Stoker and plausibly provided the visual palette for the descriptions of Castle Dracula during the writing phase in 1897.
A distinctive room in Castle, the octagonal hall, matches the description of the octagonal room in Castle Dracula.
The early chapters of Dracula were written in Cruden Bay, and Slains Castle possibly provided visual inspiration for Bram Stoker during the writing phase.
This is why the other name of the castle, Dracula castle.
The early chapters of Dracula were written in Cruden Bay, and Castle possibly provided visual inspiration for Bram Stoker during the writing phase.
Slains Castle, Cruden Bay
The Scotland castle thought to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been awarded listed status by Historic Environment Scotland.
Dracula Castle
In 1916 the 20th Earl of Erroll, Charles Gore Hay sold the Castle and it’s contents to Sir John Ellerman, the shipping magnate. This ended 300 years of the Earls of Erroll staying at Slains. The surrounding estate and farmland were not productive enough to support the castle, especially after a period of agricultural depression and after death duties (inheritance tax) were introduced.
Dracula castle
In 1925 the Castle was abandoned and the roof was removed to avoid paying taxes. Valuable dressed stone was also taken away and the castle has been deteriorating ever since. It is now quite a surprise to see old photos of how grand Slains Castle used to look. However there are modern-day plans to convert the castle and grounds into 35 apartments.
Slains Castle, Cruden Bay / Dracula castle
To find the Slains Castle, follow signs for Cruden Bay. This picturesque village is 26 miles north of Aberdeen and has a lovely harbour and beach well worth exploring. Impressive architecture is still clearly visible today as you roam the castle grounds and you can climb upstairs to the lookout and downstairs to the basement.
There was once marble steps, fourteen bedrooms, tennis and croquet lawns, stables, a walled garden, a kitchen with firepits and seven main reception rooms! As I walked through the castle I wondered about which room I was in and who might have stayed in it in the past.
Slains Castle is free to enter and the views are incredible.
Prepare your house Once you’ve assessed your home’s overall risk of flooding
Prepare your house – Take any needed steps to properly flood-proof your home. Flood-proofing can range from expensive home renovations to free, basic maintenance. The steps you should take will depend on your home’s risk and how well the home was built to withstand flooding.
Prepare your house Flood-proofing renovations
If you’re building in a flood-prone area, or if your home was not built to withstand rising water, some flood-proofing work may be required in order to minimize flood damage. Here are some methods of flood control to protect your home from rising water.
Raise your home on stilts or piers. While expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts will raise your house’s flood level. Since even an inch of flood water can lead to significant damage, raising your home above the flood level will substantially protect your home.
Install foundation vents or a sump pump. Foundation vents, a form of “wet flood-proofing,” allow water to flow through your home, rather than pool around it. This both provides an outlet for flood water and relieves the significant pressure it can put on your walls and basement windows. Sump pumps are frequently used to pump water out of basements where flooding happens regularly. We recommend a sump pump with a battery backup in case the power goes out.
Apply coatings and sealants. A form of “dry flood-proofing,” coatings and sealants that you apply to your foundation, walls, windows and doorways help prevent flood water from leaking into your house through cracks.
Raise your electrical outlets and switches. All outlets, switches, sockets and circuit breakers should be at least one foot above flood level to avoid significant electrical damage in the case of a flood.
Install check valves on your pipes. Make sure that all pipes entering your house have valves to prevent a flooded sewage system from backing up into your home. Gate valves are preferred over flap valves, since they provide a better seal against flood pressure.
Grade your lawn away from the house. If your lawn tilts toward your house, rainwater will pool around your home. Use a heavy soil that contains clay and sand to regrade your lawn so that surface runoff empties into an appropriate place, such as a street gutter.
Leave space between mulch and siding. Wet mulch can rot your house’s siding, which in turn can lead to leaks. Keep space between your mulch and siding so that the base of your house can completely dry after rainstorms.
Point your downspouts away from your home. If your gutter runoff is not pointed away from your house in an appropriate direction, it can pool at the corners of your house and may eventually create leaks in your basement.
In addition to the renovations above, protect your home’s internal and external appliances by raising them above the flood level. Usually, you can do this inexpensively by placing them on concrete blocks. Here are some appliances that should be elevated above flood level:
Air conditioning units
Generators
Water heaters
Washing machines
Dryers
Prepare your house – Take preventive steps when flooding starts
If a storm is imminent, or flooding has already started, follow these steps to minimize flooding and water damage to your property:
Turn off the water line, if that is the source of the flooding.
Clear out gutters and drains so that water can flow freely.
Use sandbags to block any gaps that will lead to flooding.
Move rugs, furniture, electronics and other valuables to a higher floor of the home, or elevate them.
Shut off your electricity at the breaker panel, if flood water is close to reaching your electrical system.
If it’s not raining, open windows to allow air flow through your home.
Turn on your sump pump or use a shop vacuum to remove water as quickly as possible.
Photograph or videotape any flooding to document and defend your claim with your flood insurance provider.
Location roadworks: Outside 15 Ugie street, Peterhead, either side of road. For 1 Days
Peterhead roadwork
Access will be provided for emergency and vehicles requiring access to properties but may be subject to delay until the road is cleared of construction plant to allow safe passage through the work.
RNLI Peterhead Lifeboat involved in epic rescue saving five lives
The alarm was raised at 4.30pm when a fishing vessel was towing another fishing vessel into Peterhead Harbour and the tow broke numerous times due to the stormy weather conditions.
Tasked by HM Coastguard, the volunteer crew rushed to the Station, launched Peterhead’s Tamar-class lifeboat The MissesRobertson of Kintail and were on scene within minutes. The vessel was dangerously close to crashing into the rocks at Peterhead South Breakwater and due to an easterly gale and significant swell combined with a backwash the conditions were extremely challenging when the lifeboat arrived.
However, the crew established a tow at the first attempt and brought the fishing vessel and its crew back to safety in tough and time critical conditions, saving the five lives onboard.
It was Patrick Davidson’s first shout as Coxswain.
He said:
“This was a really tremendous effort by the crew showing great teamwork and seamanship by all involved in really difficult conditions. If we had arrived seconds later the boat would have hit the rocks and it may have been a different outcome.
“As soon as I saw how close she was to the rocks I immediately requested the helicopter – due to the perilous situation I realised we only had one attempt to get this right.
“The crew and the skipper of the boat could not thank the lifeboat enough and said they’d be forever grateful which makes all the effort worthwhile.
“There has been weather and flood warnings in place across Aberdeenshire today – the conditions were very dangerous but everyone worked together to ensure the safest outcome.”
Jurgen Wahle, Lifeboat Operations Manager, commended the crew for their quick and crucial efforts to save lives at sea. He said: “This was really a phenomenal performance by all involved, showcasing great leadership from Pat on his first shout as Coxswain and excellent teamwork from the rest of the crew.
“This was a critical incident and the effort from everyone on shore and at sea has resulted in five lives being saved. It is a tremendous outcome, and I’d like to commend the bravery displayed by the crew.”
Access will be provided for emergency and vehicles requiring access to properties but may be subject to delay until the road is cleared of construction plant to allow safe passage through the work.
Prohibition of Waiting and Footpath Closure (Access will be maintained to shops)
For any queries please contact Seivwright Brothers Ltd – 01466 751316
Alternative route: St.Peter street, Prince street, Back street, Backgate, Windmill street
Start Date/Time 10 Feb 2021 
