The Prelude
When I first planned to visit the U.K., my original goal was to go to Scotland. I had few places in England that I was dying to go to, and my wallet and schedule constraints didn’t allow for many long-distance trips. So when I scheduled in Bletchley Park and Bournemouth, I had to make some sacrifices. That included only half a day at Bletchley and immense stress over if I would get from there to London Heathrow Airport in time for my flight to Aberdeen at nine o’clock.
To my delight (though it didn’t first come without some anxiety), I caught an earlier and faster train to London. Then, thinking it would be faster, I walked from one train station to the next: to King’s Cross. Now, being a fan of Harry Potter, I recognized the name of the station. However, not being an intense fan, I didn’t even consider the opportunity to visit the infamous Platform 9 3/4 until it was too late. Not that I had time anyway. Ah, well. That was never a huge deal for me, so I could pass it up without difficulty.
I made it to the airport in time, checked in quickly, and got through a fairly short security line with no problems. However, my anxiety kicked up again when I realized that I had to email a taxi company in Aberdeen so that I could get to my Airbnb later on. I’m not versed in taxis, so that always stresses me out. Thankfully, the company was prompt about replies, and when I couldn’t email back because I was flying, they went ahead and booked me for it just to be safe. My driver was friendly, as were my Airbnb hosts, and the next morning, I was off on my Scottish adventure!
The First Morning in Scotland
I caught a bus to Aberdeen train station and bought breakfast. Because I didn’t prefer many of the selections at the cafe there (I don’t do chocolate or fruit, really), I bought a banana muffin because, despite not liking bananas, I like banana bread. Go figure. It turned out to be the most delicious banana bread that I had ever eaten. It was moist and dense, which I like for my breads and cakes. I wish I had this cafe near my house!
Heavenly banana muffin in hand, I boarded the final train of my trip. Until this point, I had been taking buses and trains everywhere in the U.K., but there would be no more, and I was concerned because I get motion sick often. It truly would be a traveling adventure!
I arrived in Stonehaven and, instead of taking the bus further into the city, I decided to walk. Did my feet hurt from the blisters my hiking shoes had given me? Yes. Was I going to be walking a lot that day? Probably, yeah. Was I going to be spending the entirety of the following day on buses? You bet. So, with my backpack and my carry-on suitcase, I chose perhaps foolishly to walk.
First of all, Stonehaven is a beautiful town, and even though I don’t care for the ocean and coasts much, the scenery was beautiful. I wish that I could have explored the town more, but my goal wasn’t Stonehaven. It was the War Memorial and then Dunnottar Castle. So I snapped a few photos of the buildings and kept on walking.
And walking.
Eventually, I started going uphill.
Then I hit the narrow dirt path that leads from Stonehaven to the War Memorial and on to the Castle. Getting my carry-on to roll over the path was easy at times and impossible at others, but I managed.
The walk itself was beautiful, and though the memorial wasn’t quite as impressive as I had thought it would be, it was nice to see and offered good photo opportunities.
Dunnottar Castle
The walk to the castle took a lot longer than expected, but when it came into sight, I could hardly wait! Dunnottar had become a bucket list item of mine by sheer chance when I came across photos of it on Pintrest. That it reminded me of a castle for one of my roleplay sites only cemented its place on my bucket list.
What I didn’t anticipate—or, rather, had probably forgotten about—was how I had to get to the castle: a great descent down stairs, and another ascent up. Thankfully, my knees held out, but lugging my luggage that entire way (and back again) wasn’t pleasant. At least the woman at the entrance office held my suitcase for me while I toured the castle.
And, boy, was the castle worth the trip! Maybe that was for the castle itself, and maybe it was also because I had the roleplay/bucket list association, but it immediately became one of the highlights of my entire summer trip, and this was only the morning of the first day in Scotland!
The castle grounds were beautiful, and there was the most precious little house and garden on the premises that I would have loved to make my own—even just for a day.
The castle and its related buildings were neat, with many areas to explore, views to see, and facts to learn. There was even a ghost story about a haunted kitchen!
Time for Buses
Sadly, I eventually visited every part of the castle and had no choice but to make my way to the bus stop for the next train-less leg of my journey. I asked at the counter how to get there, and they told me to ask at the parking lot, which was off in the direction I hadn’t come from.
Happily, the bus stop wasn’t an extremely far walk. Unfortunately, I got confused about which side of the road to stand on. (I hate that bus stops aren’t precisely across the street from one another.) The schedules posted said one thing, while the schedules I had found online said another. I waited for half an hour and then grew nervous that I was on the wrong side of the street despite what Google Maps was telling me. So I quickly ventured to the other bus stop and continued waiting. The time came and went, and ten minutes later, I grew nervous and frustrated, thinking that I had somehow missed the bus and would have to wait an hour, throwing my tight schedule completely off. Wouldn’t you know it, but as soon as I got across the street, the correct bus came! Thankfully, I caught it and was on my way to Forfar.
What to Know
You can find current information about Dunnottar Castle on its website. Opening times and prices are located at the bottom of the main page. Be aware that the castle may be closed during bad weather, so check on the day of your trip if you are uncertain. Tickets must be purchased at the castle upon entry. They cannot be pre-ordered.
You can walk to the castle from Stonehaven, and the “Visit” section on the website shows the four walking routes you can take. I took the route that passed by the War Memorial, and the walk was beautiful, but the path was dirt, narrow, and had some small ups and downs. Cycling is an option as well. For those who are driving, there is a very small car park, from which there is a much flatter walk to the castle steps than I had from my mini hike. However, please take note of the following information and picture.
The walk to and from the castle is steep and involves many steps. To get an idea of that, see my pictures or the (current) cover image on the castle’s website. Those with bad knees should take these many steps into consideration. The castle itself also has different levels that require small numbers of stairs. Because of the nature of the castle’s defensive position, there are no options for individuals requiring wheelchair access.
A Trip Takes Me 
[…] you can catch a ride to the parking lot of Dunnottar Castle, I walked twenty minutes from the train station (which included a hill) to the dirt path that led […]
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