Dunnottar and Balmoral Castles

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We have arrived in the highlands! We left the Fife area this morning, and headed north to Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven. It was a bit of a drive out of the way, but well worth it. Dunnottar Castle is an old castle/ruins situated on a cliff over the ocean. We learned about the Castle while in Edinburgh, as it was where an 8 month siege against Cromwell's forces saved the "honours of Scotland." It took several stairs down and up to access the castle, but was stunning to view the ruins and ocean as the backdrop.

From Dunnottar, we headed east into the Cairngorms and highlands. We visited Balmoral Castle (since I apparently love to visit everywhere associated with the monarchy) late this afternoon. Not as exciting as I expected - very lovely grounds, beautiful home, and some interesting royal information - but not very much to see/do while there. We walked through the audio tour, and headed out in under 2 hours.

We are now making our home for the night in Ballater, aka "the jewel of the Cairngorms." It's a very cute Victoria village, and many of the shops have royal warrants for the Queen and Prince Charles. We arrived a bit too late to check out the shops, but may do that before heading out tomorrow.

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