of the grounds of St Machar's Cathedral and was acquired for the city in 1947. Theatres and concert halls Aberdeen has hosted several theatres throughout its history, some of which have subsequently been converted or destroyed. The most famous include: His Majesty's Theatre (HMT), on Rosemount Viaduct The Tivoli, on Guild Street Capitol Theatre, on Union Street Aberdeen Arts Centre, on King Street The Palace Theatre, on Bridge Street The main concert hall is the Music Hall on Union Street, built in 1822. Transport Aberdeen Airport (ABZ), in Dyce in the north of the city, serves domestic and international destinations including France, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Scandinavian countries. The heliport which serves the oil industry and rescue services is one of the world's busiest commercial heliports. Aberdeen railway station is on the main UK rail network, LNER (London North Eastern Railway), and ScotRail has frequent direct trains to major cities Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. London North Eastern Railway and the Caledonian Sleeper operate direct trains to London. The UK's longest direct rail journey runs from Aberdeen to Penzance. It is operated by CrossCountry, leaving Aberdeen at 08:20 and taking 13 hours and 23 minutes. Today, all railway services to the south run via Dundee. The faster mainline from Aberdeen to Perth via Forfar and Strathmore closed in 1967 as a result of the Beeching cuts, and the faster main line from Perth to Edinburgh via Glenfarg also subsequently closed in 1970. There are six major roads in and out of the city. The A90 is the main arterial route into the city from the north and south, linking Aberdeen to Edinburgh (via the M90), Dundee, Brechin and Perth in the south and Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh in the north. The A96 links Elgin and Inverness and the northwest. The A93 is the main route to the west, heading towards Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms. After Braemar, it turns south, providing an alternative tourist route to Perth. The A944 also heads west, through Westhill and on to Alford. The A92 was the original southerly road to Aberdeen prior to the building of the A90, and is now used as a tourist route, connecting the towns of Montrose and Arbroath and on the east coast. The A947 exits the city at Dyce and goes on to Newmachar, Oldmeldrum and Turriff finally ending at Banff and Macduff. After first being mooted 60