There are two ways to visit Dunnottar Castle in Aberdeenshire, one way is to go straight to the reasonable sized car park right at the castle. There is sufficient parking and a food van to grab a bite to eat and is a great express way to visit.
My way to visit what is my favourite place is to drive into the town of Stonehaven and walk along the beach, past the harbour, over the hill and along the coast to the castle.
It is around a 45 min walk without stopping to take photos and well worth it if you have the time to take in this beautiful Aberdeenshire town.
Particularly at sunset where I captured this image below from the nearby War Memorial.
There is loads of on street parking in town and by the beach, and a great way to start (or end) your visit is with a trip to "The Bay" Chip shop right on the beach promenade, next door is Aunt Bettys Ice Cream and sweet shop, a well timed visit could give you a great way to get dinner with a view, a beautiful walk and topping it off with dessert before a drive home.
Walking from the promenade along the beach you get to pass some beautifully intricate works of art by a local sculptor, from viking ships to spitfire airplanes that takes you along to the harbour, where you can stop for a pit stop and a beer at one of the harbour side bars.
It is sign posted where to cut up from the harbour to the narrow lanes and up the hill which gives you a fantastic view of the harbour at any time of the day, where you will see boats, kayakers and paddle boarders and usually people enjoying paddling with or without a beer!
From there you head up towards the prominent war memorial I mentioned previously, worth a stop and a moment to reflect.
Then you can march onwards to the castle which you will have seen by now, I love going for sunrise and sunset when it is quiet to enjoy the relaxing sounds of the north sea waves and salty sea air as I enjoy a nice peaceful moment.
The castle itself is open year round and is a great historic landmark to visit.
Due to Covid guidelines there is a booking system in place that can be found on the official website of the castle that can be found here.
Do remember good walking footwear and of course a waterproof as it is Scotland after all.
There are a lot of amazing vantage points for photographers all around and I do advise walking around it as much as possible to really soak up this magnificent scene.
But I am biased, it is my favourite place!
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