Starting 2017 off historically – by exploring Dunnotter Castle!

Sunday, 01-Jan-2017

Dunnotter Castle. We’d learned about it back at Edinburgh Castle, since Dunnotter had protected the Scottish crown jewels against a siege by the English. And I’d seen it before as well, from Henry’s rather epic pictures that he’d taken before Sarah and I had arrived.

But getting to see it in person… This castle is straight out of Game of Thrones. It sits perched on a cliff, right up against the North Sea. The only approach is a thin causeway of dirt, leading up to a sheer fortified wall in the rock.

Unfortunately, it was fortified against us too. New Years Day isn’t a day to go sightseeing, we learned, since most locations are closed for the day. And if the castle could hold out against an entire English siege, it sure could hold out against our merry little band.

So we explored around the castle. We didn’t really have any rush for the day… everyone had slept in, thanks to the revels of the previous night, and no one was feeling particularly energetic. We’d made plans for an adventure the next day, of course, so New Years Day was our day to relax and enjoy ourselves.

So we explored. Dipped our toes in the North Sea. Scrambled around the cliffs, and slipped and slid on the mud and grass. I even got a short geology lesson from Sarah and Greta, learning about the rocks around the coast, and some of the geologic history of the area. Interspersed with finding really cool stones on the beach, of course.

The rest of the day kept to the tradition – relaxing and low key. Us kids made a gingerbread house, we had an excellent dinner, and we watched a traditional Scottish movie (Brave… probably not so traditional in all honesty).