History: Aberdeen to Dundee

Ready for your next day? Make your way along the route to the beautiful harbour town of Stonehaven. Breathing in the morning coastal air and taking in the stunning, harbour scenery, start your morning in Stonehaven Harbour. Stonehaven Harbour was fist built prior to 1607 but its location on the tempestuous North Sea meant that it was destroyed on several occasions until a new harbour was built to a plan by Robert Stevenson in 1825. Want to find out more about the harbour’s history? Spend some time at the Stonehaven Tolbooth Museum which is located on the harbour. The building dates back to the late 1500’s and at one time served as the local prison!

Depending on the month of the year, research before arriving to check if Stonehaven Heated Open Air Swimming Pool is open. This gem is an important part of Stonehaven’s history. The Olympic sized pool is fed by sea water which is cleaned and the heated to a comfortable temperature of 84 degrees Fahrenheit and afterwards relax in the pool side cafe. Are you brave enough to take on the Scottish Weather! Keep a look out for their midnight swim sessions during summer! Café and Toilets

Next visit a famous North East of Scotland attraction, Dunnottar Castle. A must see! An iconic castle in the North East of Scotland, Dunnottar Castle was built on a defensive site 160 feet about the sea, with some of the remaining parts of this courtyard castle dating back to 700 years! In 1651, the Scottish Crown Jewels were brought to the caste for safety. Cromwell’s army laid siege to the castle to capture the jewels but before the castle surrendered the jewels were smuggled out, to be hidden under the floor of nearby Kinneff Church. Option for a coastal walk to the war memorial on Black Hill and Stonehaven Harbour

If you would like to visit where the Crown Jewels were taken to after being smuggled out of Dunnottar Castle, visit Kinneff Old Church. The site of a church dates back from at least 1242 however, the present building dates from 1738 and it was further altered in 1876. It was home to the Honours of Scotland buried under the pulpit between 1651 and 1660. The church is now an excellent museum telling the great story of the hiding of the Honours of Scotland.