Dunnottar

I finally made it to Dunnottar Castle. We drove up with D & L this morning.
Our first stop was to see the amazing stones at Aberlemno and the beautiful old Kirk there. When Bob, who was our Rector from 1963-83, was made a Bishop of Brecon in 1990 our congregation presented his Pectoral cross to him. We had it made to a design based on the Pictish stone in the Kirkyard there. The current church at Aberlemno built in 1722 is well worth a visit, the collage in extras also includes a wonderful epitaph from inside the building, as well as the collecting boxes still in use today.
From Aberlemno we pushed on to Dunnottar, I've wanted to visit for such a long time and finally made it. It was every bit as fabulous as I'd imagined. Do go if you can. The entry route is tough, steep steps down to sea level then up again into the castle, but well worth the effort - and there is a bench half way down to catch your breath. The cliffs are stunning too with a wonderful range of sea birds.
The Castle has a fascinating history. The chapel, which was reconstructed in the 16th century, having been previously destroyed by William Wallace. He set fire to it with the English Garrison inside when he captured the castle in 1297.
There are strong links too with the Covenanters who were kept in a dungeon here in 1685, many died and those who survived were sent by boat to New Jersey as slaves.
The Honours(Crown Jewels) of Scotland which were sent here for safety to be hidden from Oliver Cromwell, they were sneaked out of the castle and then concealed in the nearby Kinneff Parish church.
My favourite part of the collage though is the simple, inconspicuous stone in the turf which reads - Bairn of nyn years lyes here, 1685.