Continuing with the Staycation theme of exploring parts of the UK that we haven’t really visited before, we took the caravan to Aberdeenshire for a few nights.
The first stop was the fishing town of Stonehaven on the east coast. Stonehaven is famous for its annual fire festival held on 31 December (Hogmanay) where men and women parade through the streets swinging fireballs. Just what you need when everybody’s drunk. There is also an outdoor swimming pool which is open during the summer months. Sensibly it is heated.
Not so well known is the fact that the inventor of the pneumatic tyre, J.W. Thomson, originated from Stonehaven.
Another claim to fame is that a fossil of the world’s oldest known land animal, an air-breathing millipede was discovered nearby.
Less impressive is the claim by one of the fish and chip shops to have invented the batter-coated deep-fried Mars bar. I’m not sure if you’re encouraged to have salt and vinegar on it or not.
Harbour artwork
Viking influence
Sheltering in the harbour
We took a walk along the clifftop to Dunnottar castle. There’s an impressive complex of buildings inside the castle walls.
Harbour view from higher up
The chapel
From Stonehaven, we moved further north to Gamrie Bay. Many of the fishing villages on this coast were traditionally only accessible by boat. There are now steep, narrow, winding roads to reach the villages. One of the larger villages is Gardenstown. Built on the side of the cliffs, it doesn’t have many gardens. It was instead founded by Alexander Garden.
Gardenstown
The “road” along the seafront
Looking across the bay to Crovie
Next stop was Crovie. We parked the car in the car park up the hill and walked down. There is almost no room for cars beside the village, and the houses are only accessible by a path along the seafront.
No cars here
Crovie was a charming, peaceful village. A great place if you just want to get away from everything.
A short wait for more important matters
The next stop was Pennan, famous for the film Local Hero. Unfortunately like many places at this time of year, the Inn was closed.
Pennan
View along the seafront
We then headed into Banff, which was smaller than expected. Also, the castle isn’t very “castley”.
Banff castle
Next was the charming village of Portsoy.
Colourful boats in the harbour
