When last we saw our intrepid heroes, they were exploring the beauty of Aberfeldy and Loch Tay, but their adventures were not over. Oh no, they were only just beginning. From an enchanter called Tim (sometimes also called Google maps) I learned of a cave. The cave of Caerbannog, guarded by a fearsome beast. We traversed the treacherous National Cycle Rte 7, along the hazardous shores of Loch Tay, until we arrived at an unmarked gate of an unmarked field.
We dodged a series of landmines left by the sheep as we climbed the hill and then there it was
THE CAVE!
We forgot to bring a Holy Hand Grenade of our own, but not to worry there was one already there. Also, coconut shells. And so very many stuffed rabbits.
After besting the beast, we explored the cave. No cartoon terror emerged to devour us, but that didn't stop us from pulling a RUN AWAY as we fled the cave.
We made some attempts at sight seeing in Falkirk that evening, but we got utterly rained out and no one really got out of the car. We would have been better off just going back to our hostel and relaxing, but of course we had no way of knowing it would be quite so bad. Plus it was a bank holiday, lots of closed restaurants which didn't have the closure listed on their websites. Please make sure holiday closures are listed on your websites, folks! It really helps.
Our quest was not over! The next morning we checked out of our hostel and made our way to Doune Castle, also known as Swamp Castle/The Castle Anthrax/The Castle de Lombard/Camelot.
The boys actually enjoyed listening to the audio guide, maybe because it was narrated by the hilarious Terry Jones and included both ancient history and Python history. Actually our timing ended up being somewhat significant, this year is the 5oth Anniversary of the theatrical release of Monty Python's The Holy Grail.
One fun fact we learned was that this room in the photo has an ensuite toilet. George is sitting right on it. It's a stone seat with a big ole hole that leads to just a big drop down the side of the castle. How luxurious.
There were even costumes to try on! Several places we visited had costumes in kids sizes (some grown up sizes too) and it is fun every time.
My children literally dragged me to the gift shop. George picked out a little shield--the clerk made him swear he wouldn't use it for evil--and Arthur picked out a Robert the Bruce rubber duck. We call him Brucie Duck.
We explored every available inch of Doune Castle and then started the longest stretch of driving of our whole trip. It sounds like a lot, but actually it was less than two hours before we arrived at our next stop over on the coast of Aberdeenshire: Dunnottar Castle. We snacked on our remaining picnic stuffs and supplemented with some tasty grub from the on site food truck, after lunch we were ready to make our way over from the picnic area to the castle itself. A bit of a hike, but worth every step.
To get to the castle, you've got to hike down almost to the beach and then up again, making this castle a tremendously defensible location from land. It's also up on a clifftop, making it pretty darn defensible from sea as well.
The castle is a ruin now, but so beautiful to explore and surprisingly big.
There is evidence that the Picts were living on this spot as early as 5000 BC
This chapel dates back to 1276, consecrated by kingmaker Bishop William Wishart.
William Wallace took control of Dunnottar during the Wars of Independence, but the first keep was built nearly a hundred years later in 1392.
Dunnottar was besieged by Oliver Cromwell's people for the better part of a year before surrendering. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to take the castle by force, and even siege would be fairly difficult as they had a giant well for fresh water access and likely could send out fishing vessels as well.
the castle wouldn't be quite so "ruined" but when it was sold in 1717 everything of value was removed--including floors and ceilings.
Besides being a beautiful collection of buildings, the ocean views are just incredible.
There is a path down to the beach, so of course the kids wanted to go down to play.
As you can see, it is a very pebbly beach. What you can't see, but can probably guess, is that the North Atlantic water is brutally cold.
The kids still had a great time throwing pebbles and seeing how long they could stand to have their feet in the water.
In a country full of beautiful places, Dunnottar is really up there among the best of the best. Paul was especially quite tired by the time we were wrapping up at the castle, but I did have us make one more stop.
A nearby park/forest walk area that looked like it might be some fun: Dunnottar Woods.
The visitor map was a bit hard to follow (lots of little paths that aren't on the map make it hard to figure out what counts for navigation) But in our wanderings, we did spot some adorable bunnies.
We did eventually find the Shell House, though you have to look inside to understand why it's called that.
And we found a few faerie doors. Arthur knocked, but no one was home.
Paul was well and truly DONE by this point. He does not care for anything that seems to be hike adjacent and this one went on a little longer than we intended. Arthur was tired but in good spirits, George was still running and playing, so he clearly inherited the atheltics genes (but not from me).
We made our way to Aberdeen and to our little apartment rental. Aberdeen doesn't get much tourist traffic compared to a lot of the country, but it is a beautiful city and very worth a visit. Our flat was right near the city centre and very spacious and comfortable. I enjoyed mixing up our lodgings so it didn't get too samey. The kids really liked exploring new digs and declared this the best one yet.
We had two nights to explore the area (and let our laundry air dry), but you'll have to wait to find out what else we got up to, this post is already too long.
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