Salam w.b.t and
hello folks.
"How is your weekend?" is a typical
question to be asked when we come to work on Monday.
My answers normally
are, "Not much", "It was alright", and "A bit busy
doing readings". Since then I realised, what a dull weekend I had so far.
So last Sunday, I
decided to make a little trip to Stonehaven which is famous with Dunnotar
Castle. I made a bit of research on the night before on how to reach there and
other places can be visited in Stonehaven.
Below are the
details.
Stonehaven Guide - http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/
Address: Dunottar
Mains Cottages, Dunottar Mains Cottages, Stonehaven AB39 2TL, UK
Bus X7 (1 hour)
- Day ticket - £10.00 (approx.)
- At 9.15 am
- From F6 Stop, Union Street
- Stop at Dunnottar Junction
- Postcode: AB39 2TL
Opening Hours &
Prices
- The current opening hours are Daily between 10am and 3:30pm
- Prices - Adult £6
- Guide Books £3.50
- Postcard Set £2.00
Other interesting
places
- Dunnotar Castle - Main
- Stonehaven War Memorial (22 minutes from the castle)
- Aunty Bettys (25 minutes from War Memorial)
- My Beautiful Caravan, at Barclay Street (11 minutes from Aunty Bettys)
- Tolbooth Museum - the museum is only open on a Saturday and Sunday from 12.30 to 3.30 pm
Back to Aberdeen
- 4.15 pm from Barclay Street, South bound
- Bus 7
- Arrive at Stop F1
I arrived at
Dunnottar Junction Stop around 10.10 am. I did not go straight to the castle, I
went to the bus stand to see the bus schedule to return to Aberdeen, just
a precaution measure since this is not a busy area.
Then I walked to the
castle about 1 miles, which took me 10 minutes to see the ruined castle from
distance.
 |
| The view along my walk to the castle |
 |
| Welcome to the Dunnottar Castle |
 |
| Behind this field is the North Sea, if you can see it |
 |
| Pathway that leads to the castle |
 |
| I was nearly dancing around when I saw the castle |
 |
| The waterfall |
 |
| The view is so magnificent |
 |
| The entrance |
In the parking lot
got sign said the castle is close due to wind. I was a bit disappointed but I
want to have a look, probably the sign was an old sign.
 |
| The view, I will never get boring see this |
 |
| Halfway to the castle |
 |
| Actually, this is the cliff but eroded due to seawater. The castle is at the top of it |
 |
| Beach, it was windy, chilly, and started to rain |
 |
| The gate at the side of the cliff, part of the castle |
 |
| The stairway to the main gate of the castle. It was closed, affirmative. |
I did not want to
simply leave the place, so I decided to take a walk down to the beach. The
route was treacherous, and dangerous. I saw several visitors just stand at the
stairway and enjoyed the view, but none came down to the beach. I took the risk
to go down, and if I slipped down the cliff, they will see me from where they
stood.
While walking down
the cliff, I stopped from time to time and enjoy the fantastic view. Throughout
this little hiking, it was raining just so you know and I was carrying my
backpack. It was not easy and risky. I was a bit scared, but keep praying
all will go well.
In the meantime, I
saw several people followed me. Huhuhu...but one man slipped, luckily nothing
happened. I shouted to him to take the path with fresh grass, much safer.
 |
| Nearly there |
 |
| Finally down at the beach. I did not touch the water as I knew it is so cold |
 | ||
| Stopped for a while to read the sign here
|
I spent around 10
minutes there, took pictures, enjoying the view. In the meantime, studying the
route to get back up the cliff, either take the same route where I used to go
down or climb another opposite cliff.
It started to
raining heavily and strong wind, poor vision and the ground could be very, very
slippery. Besides, the tide was starting to rise. With that, I
decided to use the same route.
I walked back to the
main road with myself drenching in rain water. I brought an umbrella but I knew
it will be useless. As the wind blew so hard and it was so cold. I thought
there was a coffee shop, so I could warm up my body while waiting for rain to stop,
but nothing, it was a private property. No shelter or whatsoever, just a
parking lot. I saw a Blue Bus there but it was a charter bus for tourist.
As a last resort, I
decided, lets go to the bus stand. But first, I need to walked back about 1
mile to the bus stop. I walked slowly, and suddenly the Blue Bus I saw earlier
stopped next to me. The driver was a man that slipped when he walked down the cliff
previously.
He said, "Hop
on to the bus".
He gave me a lift to
the bus stand towards Aberdeen. He was actually a tourist guide from Edinburgh,
brought a group of tourist visited Aberdeen. Now, he was on his way back to
Edinburgh after dropping the tourists in Aberdeen. He wanted to visit the castle
before going home, but a bit disappointed as it was close.
I said to him,
"We should come visit again in summer. The chance will be higher".
He dropped me at the
bus stand and off he went. It was around 11 am at that time, the next bus was
around 12 pm. It was freezing cold and I hardly feel my fingers, and honestly I
was a bit terrified thinking what if the bus does not turn up.
 |
| The view from the bus stop. The property there, I thought it was a coffee shop |
Finally, the bus
turned up and I went straight back to Aberdeen. I did not visit other places as
the weather did not permitted. Next time...
Once I arrived at
Union Square Bus Station, I went to have my lunch at Thaikun, a Thailand
restaurant. A hot meal, after a freezing morning.
On Monday, my
colleagues asked me, "How was your weekend?".
"It was great.
I went to Stonehaven, see the castle".
Their reply,
"You went there in this kind of season, you are out of your
mind".
I giggled, "I don't regret it. The view was stunning".
##Extra - Preparation
- Decent shoes
- 4 layers of clothes + thermal shirt and pant
- Waterproof winter jacket
- Thick socks
- Gloves
- Food and water
- Check the weather forecast
P/S - I was not
stupid, I checked the weather forecast already, Allah knows. Anyway, this is
Aberdeen.
