Scottish Castles

Local information

Dunnottar Castle, Aberdeenshire

Location: Stonehaven AB39 2TL (map and directions)

Located on Scotland’s north-east coast less than two miles south of Stonehaven, Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries, though the site’s strategic defensive qualities have made it a location of fortifications for over 2,000 years. The term ‘Dun’ is Pictish for fort, meaning that there was a known structure here as early as 400 AD.

One of the most impregnable defensive structures in all of Scotland, Dunnottar Castle sits on three acres of land surrounded by 160ft steep cliffs overlooking the North Sea. The rock on which the castle stands was once joined to the mainland, but this narrow strip of land was carved away to ensure access to the castle was not possible.

Dunnottar Castle © Gerhard Piezinger

History of Dunnottar Castle

Dunnottar Castle - Wikimedia Commons

Its role as a defensive structure continued, and the castle was the only place in Scotland holding out for Charles II against Cromwell's forces in 1652. Dunnottar was of particular interest to Cromwell as it was holding the Honours of Scotland, the Crown Jewels, and Charles’ II personal papers. However, as Dunnottar surrendered to Cromwell’s army after an 8 month siege, it was then discovered that the Honours of Scotland had been smuggled out. They were hidden under the floor of Kinneff Old Church nearby and remained there for eleven years.

In 1715 the 10th Earl Marischal was charged with treason in the Jacobite rebellion and Dunnottar Castle was sold to the York Building Company. The buildings were left neglected until 1925, when Viscountess Cowdray began to repair the castle.

There are two entrances for the castle. The first is through the main gate and the second is through a rocky creek leading to a cave on the north side of the rock. The castle is made up of eleven buildings, erected between the 13th and 17th centuries. The main buildings are the 14th century tower house, the 17th century chapel and the ‘Whigs Vault’ - the setting of an 18th century mass imprisonment and one of the darkest marks on the castle’s history.

Map and directions

Other castles in Aberdeenshire