Scotland Coast

Last Sat. some friends took us about 30 miles north to the coast. On the way up we stopped at Fyvie Castle. We could not go inside because the castle is closed during the winter. The castle dates back to the 13th century. The five towers were built for each of the major families that owned the castle.


How about that for a front door?

From there we traveled up to the coast and stopped at a couple of sea-side towns. These towns, Gardenstown and Pennan, are built right on the North Sea at the base of the cliffs. The roads are very steep and narrow. We met another car on the road and almost exchanged paint colors.

Around the corner from Gardenstown is Crovie. One can only walk between the two when the tide is low. The inhabitants of Crovie have to park their cars at one end of the town and walk to the other end if they live there.

Pennan, which is completely hidden as one drives towards it, is a single row of small houses, probably about 20 houses. We enjoyed lunch at the Pennan Inn, which is the main attraction of the town. The town draws tourists because the British movie Local Hero was filmed there. We even saw someone surfing that day.

From there we drove through the countryside to the east coast. Here we stopped at Bullers of Buchan. The high cliffs were amazing, although slightly scary. No handrails, muddy paths, and a strong wind: all this makes looking over the edge fun. If the pictures look blurry, that tells you how strong the wind was. We couldn't even stand still. Pictures just don't do justice to the beauty and steepness of the cliffs.

Located about 3 miles away is Slains Castle, which Bram Stroker used as inspiration for Dracula. Although the castle lies in ruins now, it was fun wandering around trying to imagine what it looked like in its glory. The castle sits right on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the North Sea. It is an amazing view.