Aberdeen! You were fun!
Our visit began at a local pub packed full for a live music night with a front man in a kilt wearing a Tam o Shanter. Aberdeen is a city full of quirky and unusual bars and clubs to say the least (including Slains bar, look it up, it was… interesting and potentially a test of all of the senses).
Moving away from the city with headaches the next morning we headed back out into nature and made a trip along the coast to Dunnottar Castle. This was the day I got biten by a crab and Sam mistook a medieval cesspit for a swimming pool.
Dunnottar Castle is a site that has existed in some form since the 4th century, positioned like the workings of a fairytale on a cliff top looking out to sea. Dunnottar is written as ‘Dùn Fhoithear’ in Scottish-gaelic and means ‘fort on the shelving slope’. We visited on a perfectly clear summer’s day but I would very much like to go again some time when the tide is in, and the waves are crashing against the rocks as the mist rolls in off the sea. I imagine it would suit the ruggedness of this coastline and some of the harsh stories that have come from the castle’s history.
Even if you don’t want to pay to go in, the walks along the coastal path and surrounding beaches are another way of taking in the views from a different perspective, just without seeing the castle up close. There’s also a small town not far from the castle called Stonehaven which was quite sweet, with a beach and a few independent shops. From here, we headed south to Dundee to the one of the most dodgy taxi rides we’ve ever had and a disappointing Wetherspoons…
