Stonehaven

The coastal town of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, Scotland lies in a sheltered spot on Stonehaven Bay between the rivers of Carron Water and Cowie Water. The bay here is a deep inlet that has long served as the main source of growth and development for the town; with evidence of an Iron Age fishing community having settled here. Surrounded on three sides by higher land between Downie Point and Garron Point, Stonehaven harbour is both practical and attractive, providing work and attracting residents and visitors alike. The peak period of the primarily herring fishing industry here was at the end of the 19^th century, when the catch was about 15 million fish per year. The fishing industry in Stonehaven, as elsewhere, has experienced a decline; with marine services and tourism taking over as the primary industries today. The 1990 movie Hamlet brought Stonehaven to the attention of many visitors as it featured Dunnottar Castle. This local landmark is a magnificent ruined medieval fortress located on a rocky headland that looks out across the coast to the shipping lanes of northern Scotland. Although the buildings that remain date from around the 15^th and 16^th centuries, the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages. Dunnottar Castle is open to the public, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

Stonehaven has ample amenities, shops, eateries and pubs as well as some incredible natural attractions, historic sites and of course, the castle. The long beach faces the dramatic North Sea, with large cliffs at either end that provide shelter and small rock pools. There is a well known olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool here that is a wonderful attraction; heated and filled with a mixture of tap water and filtered seawater. The small museum of Stonehaven, ‘the Tolbooth’ at the harbour is the perfect place to start exploring the history of this town. Hogmanay is a great time to visit Stonehaven as the festivities along the High Street are a vibrant and exciting occasion with crowds watching the annual fireballs ceremony; in which volunteers swing huge balls of fire around and around at the ends of chains.

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