Bieldside is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

to the west of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

City Centre, Scotland. Together with the neighbouring suburb of

Cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

, it is the wealthiest area in Scotland. It has one pub/restaurant, The Bieldside, a foodstore, a hairdresser, a tea room and a charity shop. The Old Deeside railway line (now the Deeside Way) passes through Bieldside, and Queen Victoria would often stop at

Bieldside Bieldside is a suburb to the west of Aberdeen City Centre, Scotland. Together with the neighbouring suburb of Cults, it is the wealthiest area in Scotland. It has one pub/restaurant, The Bieldside, a foodstore, a hairdresser, a tea room and a ch ...

on her regular journeys between her summer retreat at Balmoral and the city centre. Bieldside is attributed as one of the wealthiest areas in Scotland, and is home to the most millionaires per postcode outside London. Its residents include former UK Open winner Paul Lawrie and

Stewart Milne Stewart Milne CBE, DBA, DTech (born 23 July 1950) is a Scottish businessman and football club chairman, from Alford, Aberdeenshire. Milne founded the Aberdeen-based Stewart Milne Construction Group, a housebuilding contractor, in 1975. He started ...

. The area was also where

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

lived whilst

Aberdeen Football Club Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were ...

manager.

Notable residents

Bieldside was the home of

William Smith Gill Colonel William Smith Gill Order of the Bath, CB Volunteer Officers' Decoration, VD Deputy Lieutenant, DL (16 February 1865 – 25 December 1957) was a Scottish Volunteer Force officer and paint manufacturer. Early life Born at Old Machar, Peter ...

, and his daughter

Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy Ruth Sylvia Roche, Baroness Fermoy, (''née'' Gill; 2 October 1908 – 6 July 1993) was a friend and confidante of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the maternal grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was one of the Queen Mother's ladi ...

was born here, later to become the maternal grandmother of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. Bieldside has some of the richest people in the United Kingdom as residents, including the oil billionaire Sir Ian Wood,

, owner of a construction group and reported to be worth £400 million, and oil company directors Ian Suttie and

Bob Keiller Robert Keiller CBE (born 29 January 1964) is a British businessman. He is the former chief executive of Wood Group, a British multinational oil and gas services company headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland. In 2016, he became chairman of Scotland' ...

, who all occupy high places in the

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

, worth over £50 million. Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland Nicol Stephen was brought up in Bieldside. The Bieldside postcode area has the most millionaires outside London.

Prehistory

The Bieldside Cairn (OS Grid reference. NJ 883 028) is a large prehistoric burial cairn, now located within a housing estate.

Education

Bieldside houses many English and Americans in the oil profession. The majority of Bieldside children go to Cults Primary School, then on to

Cults Academy Cults Academy is an Aberdeen City Council secondary school in Cults, Aberdeen, Scotland. It was the recipient of The Sunday Times Scottish State Secondary School of the Year Award 2008 because of its outstanding exam results that year, having been ...

or nearby

International School of Aberdeen The International School of Aberdeen (ISA) is a school in Pitfodels, Cults, Aberdeen, Scotland. It takes in students that come from other countries besides the UK, although British students are allowed to attend the school. It was formerly kn ...

or Private Schools in the city centre. Cults Academy pupils achieve extremely high Standard Grade and Higher exam results and in 2008 received

The Sunday Times Scottish State Secondary School of the Year Award ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

and in recent history has never dropped out of the top three schools in Scotland.

Disability Centres

There are two Camphill Communities at Bieldside, Newton Dee Village and a set of Camphill schools known as Murtle Estate for 3 to 19 year olds, providing ''Curative Education'' for those with learning disabilities, including deprivation and

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. Another Camphill school ( Camphill Estate) is in nearby

Milltimber Milltimber is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen city centre. From 1854 to 1937 the area was served by Milltimber railway station on the Aberdeen suburban railway. Along with the nearby settlements of Cults and Bieldside, ...

References

External links

Cults, Bieldside and Milltimber Community CouncilCamphill Community
* {{Areas of Aberdeen Areas of Aberdeen