Pittodrie
Aberdeenshire

A location in the Garioch district of Aberdeenshire, Pittodrie lies to the south of the River Urie, a mile (1.5 km) west of Chapel of Garioch. Bennachie rises to the southwest. To the northeast of the mansion of Pittodrie House (now a hotel) stands the Maiden Stone, a pink granite cross-slab dating from the 9th Century AD that takes its name from the legend of the daughter of the laird of Balquain who died trying to elope.

A new clay mineral was discovered in weathered granite here in the late 1970s and named Macaulayite in 1984 after the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. This brought press attention in 2009 when it was revealed that NASA scientists were investigating the mineral with the suggestion that it not only gave the planet Mars its unique red colour but also indicated the presence of water.

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