The bulk of day two was spent in Stonehaven. This town is home to a fabulous castle – Dunnottar Castle – out on a rock. We knew we needed to be there when it opened to avoid a long walk and parking on the street.

Dunnottar Castle

We were some of the first to arrive and got to enjoy exploring the castle without the crowds.  There are quite a few steps, both up and down, to reach the castle. We were glad to have the carrier to get O out to the castle. H walked the steps without trouble.

Castle Room with a View

The castle has plenty of buildings to explore that are all well signed. Additionally, there is plenty of green space for the kids to run around inside the castle walls.

Beach at Dunnottar Castle

We went down to the beach to explore the tide pools but couldn’t find anything living in them. The kids still enjoyed scampering over the rocks.

Dunnottar Castle Stone Beach

Sadly, sometime during the beach exploration we lost O’s little stuffed Corgi puppy. He must have fallen onto the beach and we were unable to find him. There were quite a few tears from H. Luckily O didn’t really realize what had happened and he had his big pup pup when we returned to the car.

Dunnottar Castle View from Beach

It wasn’t a great day for our two-year old. O also tore a huge hole in his pants playing around in the castle. I mean huge. Again, he didn’t really seem to notice, although we got lots of giggles from other visitors.

Hole in my pants

We headed into the town of Stonehaven for lunch. At the far end is a beach area that has a huge park, playground and public pool. Just past there you will find the best fish and chips place around next to an outstanding ice cream shop.

Stonehaven Where to Eat

The Bay Fish and Chips place is amazing! You can tell by the line out the door that it is going to be good! The fish and chips serving is large! Our family ordered two supper servings of the fish and chips and it was more than enough for the four of us to share. There are plenty of benches and tables in the parks surrounding the beach. We found a nice one to enjoy our lunch.

Fish & Chips Lunch

The ice cream place next door is also delicious, so save some room. We all enjoyed a cone to finish off our lunch.

Stonehaven Playground

The playground was too good to pass up so we got in some playtime before hopping back in the car where everyone (except Jeff, who was driving) napped!

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Visit Scotland provided us with an AVSA press pass waiving admission at some attractions in exchange for this review. All opinions are our own. 

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This post is linked up with:

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

About Author

Once a Type A attorney, Elizabeth Newcamp now runs on coffee, curiosity, and plane tickets. She’s a Milspouse, homeschool mom of three and travel writer whose family has lived everywhere from the Netherlands to Japan — always finding adventure in the everyday. Elizabeth also co-hosts Slate’s Care and Feeding podcast, where she talks parenting, travel, and all the messy in-betweens.

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12 Comments

  1. What a fab place to explore, it looks like all of you had a wonderful time. It’s a shame that O lost his teddy and managed to put a big rip in his trousers but at least it didn’t ruin the day for him. Stonehaven looks like a fab place to visit with so much to see and do, and you must always finish off your day with fish and chips!

    Thanks for sharing with me on #CountryKids.

  2. Looks like you all had a lovely day, apart from the minor hiccups. The views looks amazing, gorgeous photos! The chippy and ice cream place look lovely and the food sounds so good 🙂 #countrykids

  3. Those first few photos in your post are stunning! I would love to spend a day exploring here. Sorry about the bumps in the day but they do make for interesting memories. #countrykids

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