Today dawned
blue, sunny and beautiful so we three (Roni, Bray & Kaff) hit the road to
Dunnottar Castle... By the time we got there the skies had opened and
torrential rain was now the order of the day. Today we were less prepared and
Kaff was the only one with a rain jacket in the car! She took pity on Roni and
loaned her a spare but Bray ‘toughed-it’ in his thick jacket. The walk from
carpark to castle was considerable (see pic) and made seemingly more so due to
the rain and howling wind – definitely felt Scottish!
This castle
has an amazing setting – towering on cliffs above pounding surf with a view
across to ancient standing stones and down valleys with waterfalls nearby.
Right on the coast it commands a fantastic vantage point and was well utilised
in various skirmishes over the years. We got to the castle safely and enjoyed
the shelter from the elements available in the barrack room and other parts of
the place with roof remaining. The rain eased to a floating sleet almost
snow-like substance for a while before fading into nothingness. Sun emerged to
combat the biting wind and we really enjoyed the adventure.
Dunnotar Castle covers a massive area and we explored it thoroughly. Powder
magazine, barracks, warden’s quarters, smithy, stables, Lion’s den, the Whig’s
Vault, countess suite, Benholm’s lodging, chapel, bakery, keep and brewery were
just the beginning. The castle well was ma-HOO-sive and definitely could have
kept the hordes inside watered for a long time when under siege. We scampered
about taking photos of the castle, ocean, surrounds and each other as we leapt
about trying to retain some heat – even though the sun was out it was freezing. The drawing room is the only
room restored to ‘as it was’ (including roof, door and window panes) so we
appreciated the hard work put in (and the momentary respite from the wind!).On
our way out of the central part of the castle Bray climbed atop a tunnel to
stand in victory pose for a photo before noticing on his way down the big ‘DANGER’
sign posted there – oops! Overall a fantastic experience and we would recommend
Dunnotar Castle to anyone!
We
eventually tore ourselves away and raced up the myriad stairs back to the
carpark (Bray won – of course!). A few last photos looking back at Dunnotar then we hit the road again
in search of lunch. Kaff had a treat in store for us – the Creel Inn in Catterline. They had binoculars on our table, a fire,
dark beer for Bray, delicious garlic bread (basically fresh loaf served with
whole roast garlic which you then spread on it with butter) and tasty meals.
On our way
home after that we paused in downtown Aberdeen long enough to purchase the
Playstation 2 version of the quiz game Buzz!
From Cash Converters – two game discs plus four controllers for
7 quid = cheaper than hiring!
After a
dinner of pumpkin soup with Adam we all settled down to the business of Buzz! and by the end of the night
everyone was well into the game and each of us had won at least a round so
could go to bed happy. Fun times!
