Days 3-4…
Stonehaven sits along the east coast of Scotland and the North Sea, just south of Aberdeen. With a long history of fishing and sailing the high seas, the people there are as salty as they are sweet.
When we arrived on Friday, the weather was unseasonably gorgeous, albeit chilly. After a brief walk around the harbor, we booked dinner reservations and went to the Marine Hotel Bar for a pint (our room was three floors above the bar). As Stonehaven’s local hangout, about half of the patrons brought their friendly pups, leashed and encouraged to enjoy the space as much as their humans. Sounds of laughter and the deep Scottish brogue of the old-timers kicked off our evening exactly as we’d hoped.
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Our dinner at the 4-star hotel restaurant lived up to the hype, and the bustling atmosphere inside balanced the serene harbor outside.
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Dunnottar Castle
Day 4
Dunnottar Castle was a quick 5 minute drive from our hotel, so we bundled up and prepared for a hike. A thick, eerie fog and light rain greeted us, mostly obscuring the centuries-old castle ruins on the western cliff. The Keep was built in 1392 by Sir William Keith, Great Marischal of Scotland. Prior its construction (1276), William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews, built a stone chapel at Dunnottar, parts of which remain. 23 Years later, William Wallace attacked an English garrison at the chapel during the Wars of Independence (1297).
Although the castle is in ruins, Bret and I both agreed that Dunnottar Castle was, by far, the most majestic and impressive we’d visited. The haunting history and imposing cliffside location provided a palpable feeling of reverence, as if the ground itself was consecrated by centuries of life, death, and rebellion.
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After we left the castle we walked down to the beach, discovered a cave, and then climbed over a slippery bank to a rugged beach opposite the castle rock.
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Then it was time to head back to the harbor for some beach-combing, a walk, and casual dinner in the pub.
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That’s it for Day 4…tomorrow we venture across the Highlands!