where we would spend three nights. This would be our last coastal stop before we headed inland into the Scottish Highlands. Stonehaven is yet another seaside harbour town and is best known for its dramatic coastal setting near Dunnottar Castle. We would visit the castle and walk along the Dunnottar Cliffs the next day.
We rented an
entire apartment with a full kitchen, dining table, living area, and best of all, a washing machine and drying rack so that we could finally do a full load of laundry and have the luxury of time to let our clothes dry. At this point, we had been constantly on the go for over two weeks and were getting quite rundown. We decided that we needed to slow down and scale back the rest of our trip. So, we canceled a planned daytrip road trip to Aberdeen, spread out the remaining activities we had planned for these three days, canceled several dinner reservations and decided to just leisurely tour the surrounding area during the day and eat takeout in the apartment each night. We started with the Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, and lasagna that we brought with us from Inverbervie and then checked out some of the local eateries in the area. This slower pace helped us rejuvenate so that we could power through the rest of the trip.
There were some points of interest very close to our accommodations including an ornate cast-iron Victorian-era foot bridge known as the "
White Bridge” for its paint colour. The bridge spans the Carron Water, a river running through central Stonehaven that separates the Old Town to the south from the New Town to the north including Cameron Street where our apartment was. A couple of buildings east of us was a popular Indian restaurant named
Carron to Mumbai which occupies a historic Art Deco building formerly known as the Carron Tea House. We were attracted by the contrast between the Indian-styled décor including an elephant sculpture in front situated in an Art Deco building. Continuing on towards the old town, we spotted various sculptures, maritime timed stained-glass doors and windows, and garden art.
Crossing the White Bridge, we headed south on a street parallel to the beach and boardwalk. This led us to the
Stonehaven Clock Tower, also called the Old Town Steeple which was built in 1790 in Scottish medieval style using rubble masonry. It rises 4 floors with a hexagonal belfry at the highest level, topped by a conical spire and a weathervane. In addition to the clock, there is a barometer added in 1852 to aid fishermen by forecasting weather and atmospheric pressure. In front of the clock tower is a Mercat Cross signifying the location where markets and fairs were held. This particular
Mercat Cross bears the heraldic symbols of the
Marischal coat of arms referring to William Keith, 7th Earl of Marischal. We would see more references to him when we visited Dunnottar Castle. Continuing on, we reached the
Stonehaven Harbour, a historic fishing and recreational port in the eastern-most part of the Old Town, at the mouth of Stonehaven Bay along the North Sea coast. Several piers jut out into the Harbour, which is sheltered by
Downie Point, forming a semi-enclosed circular inlet with an inner basin for sheltering smaller boats and an open outer basin for larger vessels.
Surrounding the land adjacent to the inner basin are various restaurants, shops and historic sites. We stopped first at
The Ship’s Inn, a historic inn built in 1771 that now has a maritime-themed restaurant called the
Captain’s Table that specialized in over 100 types of malt whisky. We had previously made a 7pm dinner reservation here but dropped by to cancel so that we could enjoy the day and then relax in the evening back at our apartment. We also peeked into the window of the Old Pier Coffee House (or Bakery) which was also housed in a historic building. The
Tolbooth was once the former courthouse and jail established in 1600 and is now the oldest structure on the quayside. It was restored in 1963 and reopened as a museum highlighting Stonehaven’s heritage and its history as a prison while the Tolbooth Restaurant occupies the second floor. We canceled our dinner reservations to this eatery as well. It was a beautiful day strolling around the harbour, watching people fish off the wharf and at one point, we were fascinated by a seagull devouring a fish.
Stretching north from the harbour for 1.1km is the sandy and rocky
Stonehaven Beach with the Stonehaven Bay on one side and wooden boardwalk/promenade on the other. The southern end of the beach near the Carron Waters is sandier and popular for swimming and sunbathing while the northern end features coarse, weather-worn pebbles, rocky outcrops and rock pools exposed at low tide. On a clear day, you can see Cowie Beach in the northern suburb of Cowie village.
In addition to the stunning sea views, the
Stonehaven Boardwalk hosts some
fabulous sculptures, making it a fun stroll. There are many maritime-themed metal works including ones shaped as dolphins and crabs. A metal bench facing the water includes fish motifs on its sides and back. Part of the boardwalk has been informally designated “
The Viking Path” because of some Viking-themed sculptures. There was a brightly painted lighthouse with images of Viking ships and warriors created by artist Jina Gelder as part of a 2021 fundraising initiative.
In a stretch of the Boardwalk, between
Salmon Lane to the Harbour, are a series of intricate yet whimsical sea-themed sculptures made from scrap metal including various types of boats and ships, a lighthouse, and an airplane. For the longest time, the artist was anonymous and new sculptures would just suddenly appear overnight starting in the early 2000s. The creator had been dubbed the “
Banksy of Stonehaven” for his anonymity. In May 2019, the artist was finally identified as
Jim Malcolm, a local retired fisherman and self-taught welder. The boats are humorously crewed by fish, often sporting jaunty tams, as well as crustacean and seahorses instead of humans. It is clear that the sculptures were constructed by an experienced fisherman since they are so detailed and precise.
A
fishing trawler with its hull mounted on rocks, as if it was beached, includes a tall central mast, rigging and nets, an anchor winch, and a wheelhouse cabin. In 2022, a plaque was added to the work to mark the
retirement of Jim’s friends Ian Balgowan and Ian Shearer (the “twa Ians”) who would “hang up their nets for the last time”. The plaque named the sculpture “
The Harvester” after Balgowan’s boat. A fish playing golf was added on top of the cabin, referencing post-retirement hobbies while another fish is winding the winch to haul in the green fishing net draped over the drum. On the floor of the boat, a third character is reading the book “Fishing for Beginners”.
A sculpture of a
schooner, with fore-and-aft rigged sails billowing in the wind, depicts the historic
1865 tragedy on the high seas off the village of Montrose. The Nymph was passing by Lunan Bay just south of Montrose when first mate Andrew Brown attacked and killed a sleeping Captain John Greig by striking him three times with an axe. Brown claimed madness and demanded the fearful crew sail back to Stonehaven so that he could see his mother one last time. Despite his insanity plea, he was convicted of murder and hanged in 1866. Jim Malcolm’s work captures the fatal moment when Brown struck Greig with an axe.
Malcolm’s most impressive boat sculpture is a
Viking-styled long-boat with a curved prow, dragon-like head and tail, another dragon engraved on the big sail, and a hull lined with shields. Two rows of fish and seahorses wearing horned helmets and funky fin-like headgear act as the crew members rowing the boat with their long oars. A hammerhead shark wields an axe. This made a nice addition to the “Viking Path”.
The last two sculptures along the boardwalk moved away from depictions of boats and ships but still fit into the nautical theme. A plaque in front of a biplane describes a
Norwegian seaplane, piloted by Stein Gustavvson Abildso in 1940, which force-landed in Stonehaven Bay. The plane was plagued with either mechanical issues or combat damage after fleeing German forces. The sculpture depicts the pilot and co-pilot as fish, each wearing aviator goggles. A jaunty scarf is wrapped around the pilot’s neck. The cylindrical, 2-level
lighthouse sculpture overlooking the bay has a railed balcony and a domed lantern room topped by a weathervane featuring a fish (what else!). Peeking in the windows, you see various fish crew manning the structure. Standing on the balcony is a seahorse acting as a lookout while a bird is perched on the rail, about to take flight. A Ukrainian flag is mounted on the side which must have been added in support for the Ukraine war since previous images of this lighthouse show the Scottish flag. At the base is an old foghorn.
Instead of dining out that night, we decided to have our main meal in the late afternoon eating fresh seafood while sitting by the sparkling water. We had a choice of two food trucks and started with lobster rolls at the
Seafood Bothy. Prominently housed in a vintage, converted horse trailer made by the British company Rice that is brightly painted so it can be spotted from afar, the Seafood Bothy has been operating since 2021, offering freshly caught seafood options from the owners’ own fishing boats. In addition to lobster rolls, there are also smoked mackerel rillette, crab hummus and salmon tacos. We snagged a table by the inner basin across from the horsebox and had a pleasant, leisurely meal in the sunshine.
The second food truck is an offshoot of The Lobster Shop, a family-run seafood restaurant in Johnshaven, 15 minutes drive south of Stonehaven. It specializes in fresh, sustainable shellfish like lobster and crab from local boats. Although we already had lobster rolls from Seafood Bothy, we decided to buy more seafood to eat at home for dinner. We bought two more lobster rolls so that we could compare, a tub of lobster salad and a tub of white crab meat. Comparing the two food trucks head-to-head, we preferred the Lobster Shop and really enjoyed our second meal of fresh seafood.
Leaving the harbour, we walked along
Wallace’s Wynd and found the stairs leading up to
Bervie Braes, a cliff-top path leading to a well-known scenic lookout point where we got a great bird’s eye view of the harbour, the North Sea, and Stonehaven New Town. If we had followed the higher coastal path, we would have reached the Stonehaven memorial and eventually, Dunnottar. Instead, we headed back towards New Town, admiring pretty views of the Carron Water with houses on either side separated by high stone walls to protect against flooding. We crossed the new
Green Footbridge near Carron Terrace as we returned to our apartment.
Back in New Town, we treated ourselves to ice cream at
Bucket & Spade, a popular ice cream parlour that offers over 20 types of flavours and a choice of extra toppings including oreo cookie/Biscoff crumble and American candy pieces. There are also vegan options, sorbets, sundaes and milkshakes. We were particularly looking forward to getting takeout from
Carron Fish Bar, an award-winning, family-run fish and chips place that serves fresh haddock in a delicious batter as well as chips, onion rings, sausages, meat pies, haggis, and more. It is also known as the
birthplace of the deep-fried Mars Bar. We ended up ordering twice from them, first as a snack of breaded scampi and the deep-fried Mars Bar, as treats to supplement our seafood from the pier. On our last day in Stonehaven, we ordered fish and onion rings with coleslaw.
The
Stonehaven War Memorial was unveiled in 1923 initially to commemorate the people who died in WWI and later added on to in honour of the WWII dead. Perched high on
Black Hill overlooking the town, the circular Doric-style sandstone temple has eight pillars and a raised platform accessed by a flight of stone steps. The architect John Ellis intentionally designed it to resemble a ruin, to symbolize the ruined lives that were lost. In the north end of Stonehaven, just before the suburb of Cowie, is the
Robbie Burns Memorial Garden, in honour of Scotland’s most famous poet. The pretty park is covered with flower beds and shrubs encircling a bust of Robert Burns. Information boards detail his connection to the area as his grandfather was a gardener at Dunnottar Castle and his father was born nearby. While visiting this garden, we spotted what looked like clay tennis courts on the other side of the B979 Road.
After visiting the Robbie Burns Memorial Garden, we continued north into the suburb of Cowie to visit a kirkyard located in yet another very unique and stunning setting. The ruins of the
Chapel of St.Mary and Nathalan, commonly known as Cowie Chapel sits on the edge of cliffs overlooking Stonehaven Bay and the North Sea to the east, and abuts the
Stonehaven Golf Club to the west. We arrived at the parking lot of the golf club and looked down across the greens to see the chapel ruins and accompanying kirkyard off in the distance. But it took a bit to figure out how to access the church and cemetery. Doubling back on foot until we reached the road outside of the golf course, we found a narrow, unmarked path that seemed to lead in the right direction and marched boldly forward, uncertain what we would find at the other end. But we did reach the gates of the kirkyard and after fiddling with the gate, we were in!
This is thought to be the site of an earlier 7th century chapel founded by Saint Nathalan. A new chapel built in the13th-century was dedicated to St.Mary of the Storms, thus leading to the duo name currently in use. It is now one of the oldest surviving structures in the area. The roof of the 13th century chapel was ordered removed between 1560-1570 by the Archbishop of St.Andrews due to certain unknown “scandals”, accelerating its ruin. But you can still envision the structure of the church since the east and west walls remain mostly intact, connected by a south wall that had an arched doorway used by the priest of the time. The east wall where the altar was includes three lancelet windows while the west wall has a large rectangular window. It is a local legend that St.Nathalan’s hidden store of valuable objects wrapped in a bull’s hide and tied with a rope is buried somewhere near the chapel. The kirkyard has many tombstones commemorating local fishermen and seamen.
My husband Rich and I love visiting cemeteries whenever we travel and find each one to be different in its own way. This one will be one of the most memorable for the stunning backdrop of the North Sea on one side and the golf course on the other. I’m surprised we did not find golf balls scattered in the kirkyard.
Located at the southern end of Stonehaven, the
Dunnottar Woods are what remains of the estate of wealthy Scottish merchant Alexander Allardyce who purchased the land in 1790 and built Dunnottar House as his mansion (which no longer exists). Lord William Kennedy and his wife Eleanor took over the estate in 1814. Today, it is a 32-hectare woodland area with treelined walking trails, two streams and an open green meadow. Remnants of the Kennedys’ time on the estate can still be found in the woods. The
Shell House (“hoosie”) is a beautiful brick domed folly decorated with thousands of seashells on its interior walls and roof. It was built between 1800-1820 as a summer playhouse or grotto for the Kennedy children.
Lady Kennedy’s Bath is a small, man-made, rectangular stone pool built into a hillside by a stream. It was used as a plunge pool for Lady Kennedy and her children to bathe in. The pool is about 9.8ft long and 4.9 ft wide with stone sides and steps leading into the water. During our walk, we spotted a couple of “fairy doors” at the base of trees. This is part of a popular community-run
Dunnottar Fairy Trail with over 20 small doors to be found. It was started as a family-friendly activity during COVID lockdowns and visitors often leave tiny gifts or notes beside them. There is actually a map on Facebook but unfortunately, we did not know about this so we only came across the two doors.
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