Scotland 2025: Dunnottar Castle & Cliff Walk

Just south of Stonehaven, situated high up on a 160-foot cliff surrounded on three sides by the North Sea, Dunnottar Castle was once an important medieval fortress that served as a heavily fortified Scottish coastal stronghold. For centuries, it guarded against attackers approaching from the water and from land routes to the north, ranging from Viking raids to innumerable invasions by the English. Dunnottar Castle was involved in many significant historic events including the attack by Scottish troops led by William Wallace in 1297 to recapture the fortress after it was occupied by English forces in 1296. In the 14th century, it became the seat of the noble Keith family with the royal title of “Earl Marischal” and served as temporary protector of the crown jewels during Oliver Cromwell’s invasion in 1650s before they were smuggled out and hidden in Kinneff Church, which we learned about when we visited the little kirk. The castle fell into ruin and was largely dismantled after the last Earl Marischal forfeited his titles in 1715 for taking part in the unsuccessful Jacobite Rebellion to try to restore the Stuart monarchy to power.

Today, the ruins of the castle are still dramatic and imposing, perched up high on the coastal ridge. To access the castle from its parking lot involves descending a steep hill down 180 steps, walking across an earth path for about 130 feet and then climbing up an additional 38 uneven stone steps to reach the entrance. We arrived just before the castle opened for the day and were amongst the first people in. By the time we left, the streams of people coming down the stairs from the parking lot seemed endless.

Covering about 3.5 acres, the ruins at Dunnottar include the original tower keep built in 1392, a palace where the Earls of Marischal and their families lived which was added between 1580-1650, a chapel, blacksmith, stables, a house for storing valuables, and separate home called Waterton Lodge. Open green spaces demark the location of an old cemetery and a bowling green. 

The original entrance into the castle consists of a gateway and gatehouse with walls 30 feet high, topped by a parapet where guards can toss objects down at attackers. Today, this is the entrance for tourists to access the castle. Adjacent to the gatehouse is Benholm Lodge, named after a Keith relative from Benholm (just south of Gourdon). The 16th structure features three rows of gun holes facing the entrance that allows guns to be fired at the enemy approaching the front door. Four brass cannons positioned nearby also protected the entrance passage.

Benholm’s Lodge served as living quarters for high-status guests with spacious rooms above vaulted storerooms. Today, the upper section is used as a small museum and visitor’s centre. It displays artifacts including 17th century cannon balls, images of old coins found on the grounds, a model of the castle as it was in 1651, and information boards describing the castle’s history and the Keith family. There are stunning views of the North Sea and land formations from the windows of the lodge.

One of the oldest buildings in the castle is the fortified tower or Keep built in 1392 by Sir William Keith, the first of the Keith clan to live at Dunnottar Castle.  The stone tower was built for defence but also to reflect the importance of the nobleman. It had a stone-vaulted basement used as a cellar and for storage, a kitchen with a large fireplace on the first floor and a great hall on the second floor which was used for dining, ceremonies, and court business.  Private chambers were also located on the upper floors. Large windows which were once covered with leaded glass panes let light in and provided views of the water. This was the main residence of the Keith families until they expanded in the 16th century.

The Waterton Lodging was built in 16th century by the 4th Earl of Marischal William Keith for his son (also William) and daughter-in-law to live in. The two-story house had two main rooms per floor linked by a circular stair turret with a vaulted hall, kitchen on the ground floor, a parlour, study, and private bed chambers in the upper floors, with the servants’ quarters in the attic. The lodge was later named after Thomas Forbes, Laird of Waterton, a prominent Covenanter who stayed there in the late 1640s.  It is also known as the “Priest’s House” due to its proximity to the chapel. Between the Keep and Waterton Lodging is the Blacksmith’s forge (Smithy), recognized by its enormous fireplace with a central arched opening that was used for forging not only horseshoes but all metal goods required by the castle including bolts, hinges, pots, pans, lighting scones, and weapons.

Along the south cliffs are a long range of 16th century buildings that form the stables where the Keiths’ horses were kept. The horses were used for traveling, sport, war and movement of supplies. Proximity to the cliffs facilitated waste disposal. Grooms who cared for the horses stayed in lofts or barracks close to the horse stalls while livery masters who supervised the grooms resided in private quarters at the east end of the stables.  In the 16th to mid 17th century, a Palace was built in the shape of a quadrangle on the north-eastern cliffs to provide more comfortable and luxurious living quarters for the Keith Earls Marischal while offering spectacular sea views. The quadrangle consists of three main wings on the west, north and east sides, arranged around a central grassy square with a large circular cistern (50 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep) that served as the castle’s main water supply.

There are extensive remnants of the palace including thick walls, towers, fireplaces and chambers.  At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the Chapel that was initially consecrated in 1276 but mostly burnt down by William Wallace in 1297 with the English garrison still inside. Bits of the original walls and a few 13th century windows survived but the chapel was mostly rebuilt in the 16th century. To the south of the chapel is a small graveyard that was created for burial of castle residents. It is now a large green space with just one surviving grave marker inscribed with “A bairn of 9 years lies here” dated 1685.  This is likely related to a child of one of the Covenanter (Whig) prisoners that were held in Dunnottar Castle during this period.

The West Range was built by the 4th Earl in the mid to late 16th century when the household outgrew the Keep tower. It has seven chambers or units on the ground floor, each with a separate entrance, window, and fireplace. Guests and lower-status household members of the Keith clan were housed here. At the southern end of the west range was the “Silver House”, used as a strongroom for keeping valuables including the family silver. It is thought that the Crown Jewels were stored here while they resided at Dunnottar Castle. Today, the Silver house is one of the few buildings that still has its roof intact.  Above the seven units on the ground floor of the west range was a 120-foot gallery used by the family for indoor exercise (walking), dancing and art displays.  It links the Silver Room to the Drawing Room.

At the north-west corner between the West and North ranges sits the Drawing Room which was restored to its 17th century state with oak paneled ceilings boasting royal coats of arms, an Arbroath stone floor, and period correct reproductions of furnishings. The restoration was performed in 1920 under the direction of Lord and Lady Cowdray, who purchased the castle in 1919 and became an extensive program of conservation and restoration to prevent further deterioration of the historic ruins. The Drawing Room links the two ranges.

The North Range faces the North Sea and houses the most prestigious rooms in the castle.  On the ground floor were the wine cellar, bakehouse, pantry, larder, and kitchen with a massive fireplace and chimney that would have made the area very hot as there were descriptions of staff dying of heatstroke. The first floor included a grand dining room, a great chamber, and the Earl’s apartments in the north-east corner.

The Earl’s apartments are comprised of the Marischal Suite which provides the Earl a private chamber and bedroom with tall chimneys and a sea view, and the adjacent outer reception area dubbed the “King’s Bedroom” because this is where King Charles II slept during his stay in 1650.  Above the fireplace in the King’s Bedroom is a carved stone dated 1645 which is inscribed with the coat of arms of the 7th Earl William Keith (so many of them are named William!) along with an “E” for his wife Elizabeth Seton, and a “C” for his son Charles. There is also a carved sundial imbedded in the stone wall near a window.  Because of the north-east setting of these rooms, there are amazing sea views from two sides. On the East range is the Countess Suite, which were private apartments for Elizabeth Seton including sitting areas, bed chambers and windows overlooking the quadrangle and the cliffs. Below these suites was a larder, brewhouse and bakery.

In the basement underneath the Earl’s apartments is the notorious Whig’s Vault, a small, dank cellar where 167 Covenanters (122 men and 45 women) were imprisoned for six weeks in ankle-deep seawater, filth and darkness without sanitation.  They suffered deprivation, hardship and torture with five people dying from starvation and disease. Twenty-five prisoners tried to escape through a narrow window down the sheer cliffs with two falling to their deaths.  Fifteen were recaptured and subsequently tortured. The prisoners who survived this incarceration were shipped to New Jersey colonies with many perishing enroute.

Following our tour of Dunnottar Castle, we took a Cliff Walk back towards Stonehaven so that we could get better views of the castle from afar, as well as admire cliffs, coastal, and sea views.  We had surveyed the ruins from the parking lot when we arrived in the morning, but at that time, the sun was high and cast the fortress in shadows. Now that it was later in the day, we had a much clearer view and stood in awe of its magnificent perch atop the steep, rocky cliffs that looked impossible to climb.

Continuing along, we saw waves lapping against rocky shores and outcrops, which reminded us of our Arbroath Cliff Walk. In calmer bays, there were people out on sailboats and a stand-up paddle board. In the air, we watched a paraglider swoop around in the sky. He must have had a fantastic view of the Dunnottar ruins from above! We also passed a field of cows, but no Highland cows in this group. At one point, from afar, we spotted the Stonehaven War Memorial that we had visited on the previous day.