Dunnottar Castle

As ever with holiday cottages we had to be out by 10am, and we succeeded.  However, why is it we always seem to have more stuff to bring home than we took?  All I bought was a book. The only thing I bought all week was a book, so I didn’t add to my luggage in any substantial way .  We did seem to accumulate foodstuffs though, which all came home with us.  Once the car was packed up, we set off back down the road.  We had a bit of  false start as we missed our turning and had to double  back on ourselves.  The weather brightened up as we drove south.  Our plan was to stop in Stonehaven for a wander and some lunch – which we did.  We all enjoyed a tasty lunch at a café by the harbour.   We continued on our way – with our next stop being Dunnottar Castle.
 
We’ve not visited the castle for years, and II am pretty sure BB has never been.  The first thing I noticed was  that the information and parking has been brought into the twenty first century.  The second thing I noticed was that the castle was closed today – presumably due to the very strong wind.  We wandered down the path a bit, and enjoyed the view, before heading back to the car.  I’m glad we didn’t walk there, as we would have been very disappointed at having battled to get there against the wind.   We needed a plan B.  That plan was hatched and we drove over to Fettercairn just as a very heavy shower made an appearance.  Our destination was the distillery, however we sat in the car for a while until the rain eased.  By the time we got into the visitor centre the sun had reappeared.  TT made a purchase, with a thought to come back and do a tasting.  That will be for another trip.
 
Our next destination was Edzell, where we went for a walk.  We walked to the Shakkin Brig – but it is out of commission due to Storm Babet.  We walked up the river to the Gannochy Bridge, but then had to retrace our steps, rather than doing a circuit.  It’s a lovely walk, and one I have done a few times before – but I was rather freaked out by the sheer drops down to the river along the way – as the path wends its way high above the river.  The strong wind only added to my stress.  We did see a red squirrel, which was small consolation.  I was glad when we were back at the car.
 
From there we headed back down the road to home.  The house was freezing and we were weary.  We ordered an Indian takeaway, and unpacked while we waited on it.  TT then headed out to pick it up.  We were all hungry and all really enjoyed our meal.  BB was watching rugby and then TT put on another James Bond movie  Diamond are Forever.  I have no recollection of ever seeing it before - and I will probably will never watch it again.
 
This is the very impressive Dunnottar Castle.  The extras are the distillery in the rain (taken about half an hour after the castle), which celebrates its two hundredth birthday this year, and a view of the River North Esk from our walk – before the path got to a height where I couldn’t look down!  I'll get round to back blipping our week away in due course!