Dunnottar Castle

Dunnottar Castle stands on a rocky headland jutting into the North Sea, about three kilometres south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. The ruins cover 1.4 hectares and are reached by a steep path across a narrow neck of land. Cliffs drop 50 metres to the sea, making the site almost an island. The surviving buildings date mainly from the 15th and 16th centuries, though the fortress was first fortified centuries earlier. It was once the stronghold of the Earls Marischal, one of Scotland’s most powerful families. The castle is best known for hiding the Honours of Scotland from Oliver Cromwell’s army in the 17th century. The site played a key role in Scotland’s history from the early Middle Ages. A chapel is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, and the Annals of Ulster record two sieges in the 7th century. King Donald II was killed here during a Viking attack in 900. William Wallace captured the castle in 1297, and Edward III of England later ordered it rebuilt as a military base. The Keiths, Earls Marischal, owned the castle from the 14th century and turned it into a grand residence in the 16th century. Visitors walk along the narrow land bridge to the gatehouse, then climb past ruined towers and a 14th-century tower house. The 16th-century palace ranges form a quadrangle with sea views, and the restored chapel sits within the walls. Benholm’s Lodging, the stone gatehouse, still shows decorative gun ports. The cliffs and crashing waves give the place a dramatic setting, while the remains of walls and buildings tell stories of sieges, royal visits and hidden treasures.