Onwards from Aberdeen

 Once again we took the road less traveled and drove south via the back roads. Our first stop after leaving Aberdeen was the quaint little seaside village of Stonehaven, with it's protected harbour, where the tide goes out so far that all the boats are left sitting in the mud. Some of the boaties were out there in their gumboots, working on their boats while they could easily get to the bits normally under water. Despite the 5 degree Celsius temperature, we enjoyed a walk along the seafront looking at all the boats.

Not too far from the village, sitting on top of a rocky headland, are the ruins of Dunnottar Castle, a dramatic medieval fortress surrounded by steep cliffs and the North Sea on three sides. We walked out to the headland, but decided against the steep climb up to the castle itself.

The landscape in this part of Scotland is completely different to the highlands, with rolling green hills, lots of sheep and beautiful old stone houses everywhere you look. There are daffodils blooming along almost every roadside, the trees are just beginning to come into blossom, and the bare branches of the forest trees are just starting to show a tinge of green.  It was such a lovely drive, and we took the opportunity to stop several times to go for a little walk.