8 Days in Scotland: Day Trip 1 - Stonehaven

Dunnotarr Castle, Stonehaven, Scotland.

Last April, a visit to Barcelona to see my brother-in-law and his wife was the perfect opportunity to visit Carmina in person. Having moved on to the University of Aberdeen, our visit this year brought us to the rugged East coast of Scotland, a few hours north of Edinburgh.

As the coastline is literally peppered with ancient golf courses, wool and cashmere factories, and a smattering of Highland castles, I thought a few detours during the week would be an interesting diversion. So, taking care to bundle up, we started out with a day trip to Dunnotarr Castle, in the town of Stonehaven.

Before heading to the castle, we stopped at a fish and chips shop in the town. A 2013 winner of the  independent takeaway fish and chip shop of the year award, The Bay fish and chip shop lived up to the hype. I went with a Mac and cheese pie, with onion rings and baked beans - it was amazing. Everyone else got the fish and chips, and that was pretty amazing too.

Having stuffed our faces, we made our way to the castle. Built on an outcropping of the cliff face in the 16th or 17th century, Cromwell laid siege to the castle in an attempt to seize the Honours of Scotland (the crown jewels). Looking over the ground today, it isn't very difficult to see why the siege failed.