Dunnottar Castle

On the rugged Aberdeenshire coast, a small rocky outcrop juts out into the North Sea. Separated from the mainland by a manmade trench, Dunnottar Castle must have been an imposing sight for any would-be invader. Today, its ruined walls and crumbling buildings provide a glimpse into its storied past. But why was its builder cast out from the church? And just who was held captive in its underground vaults? Find out all this and more on a short clifftop walk from Stonehaven.

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The Pilgrim’s Path to Lindisfarne

St Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk who took up residence on the island of Lindisfarne, where he would one day become bishop.  After his death, he was said to be the cause of many great miracles and was venerated as a saint.  For this reason, the island he once called home became a popular pilgrimage site — but not one accessed by boat.  Instead, when the tide recedes, it is possible to walk across the sand to reach this most Holy Island.

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The Norber Erratics

High on a lonely hillside stands a stony herd – the Norber Erratics.  These great boulders, deposited by passing glaciers during the last Ice Age, have dotted the landscape for thousands of years.  Being made of sandstone, the weather had affected them differently to the surrounding limestone pavement – rain erodes the limestone at a much faster rate, leaving the erratics perched atop narrow stone pedestals that look rather like legs.  I can’t help but feel that they might just wander off on some new adventure.

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