Aberdeen and Stonehaven

In which Lis visits a castle and acquires a new Aunt and Uncle (on loan)

Aberdeen, The Granite City, has beautiful architecture. I only stayed one night on my way to Orkney (the ferry leaves from Aberdeen).

In the morning, I went to the nearby town of Stonehaven to find a castle.

The coastal path from Stonehaven brings you to Dunnottar castle, on a site that has been used by the Picts (5000 BCE), St. Ninian (400 AD), and then the current castle was built around 1500. There’s a ton of history to explore at this single site.

Tzip2 found the lion’s den.

I found a garden.

Another glorious walk back along the coast to Stonehaven. On the path down to the harbour I encountered the most beautiful bumble bees. My best guess is Bombus terrestris (buff-tailed bumble bee). Also, did you know that fuschia is not just a plant that grows in hanging baskets? Here it turns entire hedges!

Interesting observation: it looks like these bees are drilling a hole through the outside of the base of the flower to get to the nectar.

Back in Stonehaven, I met up with Aunt Sheena and Uncle Robbie (relatives on loan from Kirsten.) We went out for lunch and I had my first fish and chips since arriving in Scotland. I was thinking of getting the haggis, neeps and tatties, but it was only on the senior’s menu, for some reason. Then it was back to Aberdeen to pick up my bag from the hostel, a quick drive by the beach, and off to the ferry. Hopefully I’ll be coming through again soon and I’ll be sure to have another visit with my new Scottish family.

This is the ferry that took me to the Orkney Isles. Possibly the best logo around. Now on to see Orkney, a visit I first dreamed of approximately 14 years ago!