Seaside Villages & a Castle

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As I type this entry we are on the train from Inverness to Glasgow, meaning we are now in the final days of our trip. It’s a three-hour train ride, so hopefully I can get caught up on the last three days. They are shore entries as they were not jammed back days.

After breakfast we headed out in the car to Montrose, the first potential summer retirement home of the day. The drive is getting easier for both me and Jerry. We did not really stop in Montrose but did a drive through it did not really speak to us as a place we would want to spend two months every year.

From Montrose we headed up the shore line through Inverbervie, a tiny village that does not ever make the guide books. Jerry marked it with two stars for potential summer living. Continuing north next came Dunnottar Castle, this was our sightseeing event for the day. Travel tip here is where good walking shoes, if not hiking boots. All of our 5,035 steps for the day came primarily from here, and since it was up and down steep steps, I am doubling them. It was a gorgeous sunny day, a light breeze and just the right temperature for me. The castle began construction in the 14th century and has hosted such nobles as Mary Queen of Scots (If you haven’t notice, almost everything in Scotland can be connected to her.) The castle has withstood many attacks including an 8-month siege by Oliver Cromwell’s army where the Scottish Crown Jewels were saved from English hands.

While the walk just about put an end to me, it again was worth the views. On one of the hills, they were organizing an event for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. They were putting the finishing touches of one of the many bonfires that would be lite on the first night of the celebration. So, yes, we are here during the big 70-year celebration of the Queens Regin. However, we are in Scotland where they are somewhat less enthusiastic about the Royal Family, and the events are much more subdued. Fortunately, it will be over by the time we arrive in London, where they crowds are quite large.

While we had to walk up and down very steps to get to the castle ruins, in the time of Queen Marry, she got to ride a horse as it was just a dirt path. I would much prefer the horse to the steps. After our exercise it was time for lunch in the lovely village of Stonehaven. It is a picturesque vishing village, just the right size to spend a couple of summer months in. There are a few restaurants, a co-op for groceries an outdoor heated sea salt pool and a train station. To top it all off a very nice sandy beach.

Lunch was at the Tolbooth Seafood Restaurant located in the oldest building in town. The menu was simple and the staff friendly. Jerry had Isle of Wight Tomato Salad and Potted Smoked Salmon. I had Cullen Skink (#2) and seabream with Hasselback potatoes. Lunch was very good; Cullen Skink was slightly better in Edinburgh.

After lunch we just continue driving back up the coast line to Aberdeen.

That was it for the day. Dinner was at Café 52, a quaint restaurant using mostly organic and locally sourced products. We had a nice chat with our server about Scotland and Aberdeen itself. The food was creative, but if you’re looking for traditional Scottish fare, this is not the place, but it was the best place in Aberdeen. We started with Prosecco and an antipasto platter, one of the biggest we have ever seen. There were your standard meats and cheeses, but what made it a bit more Scottish was the Sprat (an anchovy type fish), the pickled herring (not a fan of this) the mackerel pate (decent) and the humus (not like any humus you have ever had. Unlike most places here you got the perfect amount of toasted bread for the platter.

The entrees were good, we both had what they called a casserole, but were really stews. There is no easy way to describe the dish with out listing every ingredient so here it goes:

Chris, Beef Casserole: slowed cooked blade of beef, pork & Pork sausage, cooked in turmeric, mustard seed, almons, wild garlic and fresh lovage with a red wine base.

Jerry, Normandy chicken casserole with cider crème fraiche, tarragon and smoked streaky bacon.

They were both good but the Normandy Chicken does win dish of the day.

That wraps up our time in Aberdeen. Aberdeen is very central to do other things in the area, castle tour, whiskey trail, biking, the coast, but it is not a place we would likely return to, to visit. The original trip called for us to stay in a Manor home outside the city. This would be a much better option even if it meant you had to eat in the same restaurant every night, given the lack of places to eat in Aberdeen I am not sure that is really a bad thing.

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Comments

[Home and Away]

I visit Dunottar Castle at the end of August...
but will forgo the steep climbs down and up!