Driving Experiences In and Around Aberdeen
Welcome to GoRoadie’s Driving Lesson Aberdeen blog series where we talk about the area and share some hidden secrets.
Now that you’ve taken the time to unwind, it’s time to get the adrenaline pumping. Whether you want to go full throttle around a race track or be unbound and take things off road, there are a few decent driving experience options within Aberdeenshire and nearby.
Supercars
Sunnybank Park is a small, community run park just a mile from Aberdeen City Centre and spitting distance from University Library and King’s College.
If high speeds and luxury high-end cars are your thing, nearby Alford — a 40–50 minute drive from Aberdeen — is home to the Grampian Museum of Transport that features many events, one of which is Supercar Sessions.
Get behind the wheel of 3 different super cars including a Ferrari F430, Aston Martin Vantage, Porsche 911 GT3, Lotus Elise or an Audi R8.
You’ll spend around 2 hours on the day, including a bit of safety training, but the rest of the time you’ll be zooming along in a genuine beast of a car for 6 or 15 laps. Or maybe you’ll just spend your time idle, listening to the engine bubble away.
You don’t need to wait until you get your driving licence either, as it’s all on private land. Heck, you don’t even need to be 17.
You can find out about any upcoming events from the Supercar Sessions website.
Off Road
If you fancy a bit more of an extreme experience, you can take a beast of a Land Rover Defender across some harsh landscape, in rural Perthshire.
Situated in Dull, Aberfeldy, it’s over a 2-hour drive to get there, but the experience lasts almost 2 hours itself.
The Defender can go anywhere and with an instructor by your side, you’ll soon be gaining new confidence as you learn to navigate this complex terrain.
Because you’re driving through public land, you will need to hold your driving licence before you can go on this experience.
Learn more from the Experience Gift Scotland website.
Land Rover Rides
Also available at the Grampian Museum of Transport in Alford is Land Rover Rides. This is a chance to get behind the wheel of a proper workhorse vehicle.
These Series I Land Rovers were originally made for farm and industrial work in 1948, are built like tanks and can go almost anywhere because of their wide wheel-base and four-wheel drive.
As a bonus, the museum is dog-friendly, so feel free to bring your four-legged companions with you. They even provide fresh water bowls every day.
Find upcoming events on the Grampian Museum of Transport website.
Track Days
If you don’t mind a bit of extra travel (an hour and a half there and back), the former RAF airbase at Leuchars, by St Andrews, has a plethora of track days available, and unlike the supercar sessions at the Grampian Museum of Transport, these events are available all year round.
Some of the cars on offer include;
- Ariel Atom
- Aston Martin DB9
- Ferrari 458
- Lamborghini Gallardo
- Porsche 997 Turbo
- Audi R8 V10
- Mclaren 570S
- Nissan GTR
There is a range of experiences on offer, from prices ranging between £39 and £299. Just like the supercar experience, no driving licence required and no age restriction. We recommend the Ariel Atom experience, it’s the cheapest and arguably the most thrilling!
More details available on the TrackDays website.
Tractor Driving
Okay, this one’s maybe a bit too far being situated on Scart Farm an hour west of Glasgow(!), but we wanted to quickly mention you can drive a tractor. An honest to goodness tractor!
Move around hay bales or dig up some muck. Childhood dreams achieved.
GoRoadie is a UK-based startup, connecting driving students with their ideal instructors. We just launched our Aberdeen Driving Lessons landing page, helping Aberdonians pick their ideal driving instructor — as well as learners across the UK in Dundee, Glasgow, Nottingham and Leeds.