Stonehaven

Stonehaven could be called the most northerly town of the lowlands. Central lowland Scotland is a rift valley, walled by the Highland Boundary Fault which trends diagonally from Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven on the east. Southeast of this line is Old Red Sandstone, bright red from its iron oxides, built into roseate castles such as Edzell, and with red soil in the lowland cattle fields. Northwest are the granite Grampian highlands. As the fault line approaches the coast, it funnels all the transport routes — for cattle-drivers, armies, traders and mail coaches — to the rocky headland where Dunnottar Castle stands guard.

The coastal plain then opens up again further north towards Aberdeen. The "Highland Line" is as much cultural as geological, and this area was an early adopter of lowland agricultural methods, land tenure and industries, and of English in place of Gaelic. Stonehaven's last military upheavals were in the Jacobite campaigns of 1715 and 1745, when it was a supply port for the rebels. Thereafter it was simply a provincial market town, though busy in the 19th century with herring fishing. Its many dank medieval turrets were converted into mansions: these are mostly private residences, but may be occasionally open in summer as part of the Scotland's Gardens Scheme. Stonehaven was the county town of Kincardineshire, but that was abolished in 1975 so it's now part of Aberdeenshire, with a population in 2022 of 11,000.

Stunning Stonehaven is the online visitor information portal.

By train:

Hourly trains from Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street take two hours via Dundee, Arbroath and Montrose, and continue to Aberdeen. A few are direct from London Kings Cross or Leeds via York and Newcastle, but from England it's usually quicker to change in Edinburgh.

The Caledonian Highland Sleeper to Aberdeen runs Su-F from London Euston, departing after 9PM to reach Stonehaven around 7:15AM. The southbound train picks up around 10PM to reach Euston towards 8AM. You could also take the Lowland Sleeper from Euston towards midnight and change to a day train in Edinburgh. Going back, you need to leave Stonehaven before 8:30PM to join the southbound Lowland Sleeper at 11:30PM from Edinburgh.

1 Stonehaven station is a mile west of town centre. There's a ticket office, machines, toilets and a waiting area, with step-free access to both platforms. Exit onto Arduthie Rd, where the Station Hotel has a bar and serves meals; head downhill east for more food and pubs in the centre.

By bus:

Stagecoach North Bus 8 runs hourly daytime from Aberdeen Union Square, taking an hour via Portlethen, Newtonhill and Chapeltown. At night take Bus X7.

2 Barclay Street is the main bus stop, at the corner with Cameron Street a block south of Market Square.

Coaches from Edinburgh, Glasgow and the south towards Aberdeen scoot past on the A90 and don't stop in Stonehaven.

By road:

From north or south the quickest road is A90, which cuts inland. For a slower scenic route (eg cycling) take A92, which follows the coast from Dundee via Arbroath and Montrose.

To reach the Cairngorms, A957 northeast (the lyrically-named "Slug Road") joins A93 at Crathes: this is the route between Glenshee, Braemar, Balmoral and Aberdeen.