Dunnottar's Hidden Treasure

© The Automobile Association 2008. © Crown Copyright Licence number 100021153

1 From the Market Square in Stonehaven, walk back on to Allardyce Street, turn right and cross over the road. Turn left along Market Lane and, at the beach, turn right to cross the footbridge. Your route now takes you along duckboards beside the beach, then past a wire sculpture of a dolphin. Turn right at the signs to Dunnottar Castle, which bring you out at the little harbour. During the 18th century this was the focus of trade in Stonehaven. Grain, potatoes, whisky and fish were the main exports, while coal and lime were the main imports.

2 Cross here to continue down Shorehead. Pass the Marine Hotel, then turn right into Wallis Wynd and left into Castle Street. It's a bit of a puff uphill now, but you're soon rewarded with great views over the harbour. You emerge at the main road, then maintain direction, walking along the road until it bends. Continue ahead, following the enclosed tarmac track. This takes you between arable fields and past a war memorial on the right-hand side. Your path soon gets narrower and you will see signs saying that erosion has made it hazardous (though it is still widely used).

3 You pass another bay on the left-hand side and will get great views of both the castle ahead and of the seabirds swooping over the cliffs. Nip over the stile at the end of the track and make your way across the middle of a field, then cross a footbridge and two more stiles. You now pass a track going down to Castle Haven Bay and continue, following the main path around the cliff edge. Cross another footbridge and bear uphill. The path is laced with wild flowers and the seaweed down in the bay creates a rich, salty collage of copper, ochre and green. You'll soon reach some steps on your left that run down to Dunnottar Castle.

4 Your walk bears right here, past a waterfall, through a kissing gate and up to a house. Pass the house to reach the main road, turn right, then take the first turning on the left, walking in the direction of the radio masts. Follow this wide, metalled track past the masts and on past East Newtonleys on the left-hand side. When you reach the main A957, turn right and walk downhill, then take the first turning on the left-hand side. Follow this track to reach a sign on the right saying 'Carron Gate'. Turn right and walk through the woods, following the lower path on the right-hand side that runs by the burn.

5 You'll soon reach a little Shell House on the left, built in the 19th century for the children of the local gentry. It gets its name - not surprisingly - from the thousands of seashells that decorate its interior. Passing this on the left, continue along the lower track, then climb uphill to join a wider track. Bear right here, to maintain direction and reach the edge of the woods. Walk through the housing estate to join Low Wood Road and the river. Turn left, then right to cross the footbridge with the green railings. Turn right and walk by the water. You'll soon pass the striking art deco Carron Restaurant on the left-hand side, and will reach a cream-coloured iron bridge. Bear left here, then turn first right to return to the Market Square.