Dunnottar Castle is one of the places that Victoria wanted to visit ever since she made Edinburgh her second home, so we decided to take a day trip to one of Scotland’s most iconic landmarks in August. I’m sure you have seen it as Merida’s home in the Disney Pixar hit ‘Brave’ as the castle which is surrounded on three sides by the sea with dramatically steep cliffs hanging beneath its walls. Once an impregnable citadel, Dunnottar proved to be highly defensible, notably as the hiding place of Scotland’s crown jewels during Oliver Cromwell’s 17th century invasion.
The castle might be picture-famous, but it is very much off the beaten path. The castle lies about 2 hours north of Edinburgh by train, just outside a seaside town called Stonehaven, in Aberdeenshire. From Stonehaven it is a scenic hike along the north sea coast cliffs to the castle which took us about 45 minutes.
Although we had a great time, it was very cold, windy, rainy, and sunny! No matter how much you analyse the forecast to prepare for the elements, Scotland’s climate is far too unpredictable.
As you can see being soaked was worth it with views like this:
