We had been told by several people that Dunnottar Castle is one of the most spectacular castle sites in Scotland. After this visit, we would agree!
This is a view of Stonehaven - the closest city to Dunnottar.
We learned that these marks are very loose on accuracy!
The castle was more like 2 1/2 miles from this marker!
We walked a total of 8.3 miles today.
Overlooking Stonehaven
Yes, we hiked up that hill!
Looks like Scotland!
See the castle in the mist?
This was an interesting cave near the entrance of the castle.
Still a lot of mist, but you can see the ruins better in this photo.
Dunnottar is perched on this skinny peninsula of rock surrounded by sheer, rocky cliffs.
William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, the Marquis of Montrosd and future King Charles II all graced this castle with their presence.
This is the chapel.
These rocks, obviously collected from the shores below were placed on their sides to insure maximum wear.
Yes, a lion's den! The "pet" lion did not survive long.
The castle's most famous part of Scottish history was the small garrison that held out against Cromwell's army for eight months, preserving the Scottish Crown Jewels (Honours of Scotland).
The crown, scepter and sword are now in Edinburgh Castle.
A darker chapter in the history of the castle was the gruesome imprisonment in 1685 of a group of Covenanters who refused to acknowledge the King's supremacy in spiritual matters.
This is a tiny room for 167 people!
The Thief's Keep
The lion symbol - Josh commented that this was the only color, other than brown, in the whole site.
More information can be found here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnottar_Castle
A really pretty waterfall next to the castle grounds
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