Dunnottar Castle
Two miles south of Stonehaven, Dunnottar Castle enjoys a dramatic location atop a mighty clifftop jutting out into the North Sea. However, despite its seemingly impregnable location, Dunnottar has suffered a particularly bloody history in its thousand or so years of existence. In 1297 William Wallace sacked the castle, burning alive the English garrison in the process and in 1685, 122 men and 45 women were imprisoned and tortured for their support of the Covenanter cause:
© Mark Simms Photography (2016)
Mark Simms Photography 
27 Responses to “Dunnottar Castle”
[…] and unusual monument that we visited as part of the popular clifftop walk from Stonehaven to Dunnottar Castle (more of which in the next […]
Beautiful landscape images 🙂
Composing images with people, really gives us an idea about the scale…
Thank you so much for sharing and have a beautiful day ahead 🙂
Thanks Sreejith, it used to bother me when people got in the way of my shot, but now I try and use it to my advantage 😊
I too followed the same path, Mark 🙂
Once I started including people in my frames, the kind of appreciation that I received was really a confidence booster 🙂
Learning quite a lot from this beautiful forum 🙂
Yeah WP is good…..we’re a pretty generous and supportive bunch 😊
Hmm, William Wallace. I lived a stones throw from the Wallace Monument when I studied in Stirling. He was quite the Scottish hero but not terribly merciful in his battles with the English. Wonderful photographs Mark.
Thanks Adrian, it was a pretty brutal period of history and I’m sure the English could be quite nasty too.
I have no doubt Mark! 🙂
Now thats scary took an identical angle in to the sun during an Instagram Meet couple of months back
Haha……..”great” minds think alike 😊
https://www.instagram.com/p/BExh5klyQGp/ paste this and see for yourself 🙂
Almost identical 😊
Great photos. You’ve really captured the drama of the ruin on that rocky promontory. I used to love visiting Dunnottar Castle as a kid. We loved scrambling around the ruins and especially the dungeons.
Thanks Laura, yes it’s a great place to explore and a lovely walk along the cliffs from Stonehaven and then back through Dunnottar woods for ice-cream by the harbour 😊
Beautiful images!
Thanks for sharing them and adding some historical context.
Thanks…….yes I should do more of the historical context stuff really.
What an incredible setting and your images really capture the drama and beauty, Mark.
Thanks Jane, one of the prime reasons for choosing Stonehaven as our base for two weeks was its proximity to this castle……somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit.
PS and the gruesome history, too!
There is no doubting that Jane, and you really get a sense of it when you visit. It’s a dramatic and romantic spot, but the weight of history lies heavy on that place and it’s kind of overbearing.
These are gorgeous shots. I love the lush greens all around the castle.
Thanks Joycelin….it’s a special place 😊
wonderful images!! I must put this on my travel list!
Oh yes you’d love this place, it would make an inspirational setting for your stories and style of photography 😊
🙂
What a fabulous castle and a really good selection of varied images – for a small island Scotland is a long way away!
Thanks Noeline. It’s not too far for us…..we could drive to the border in about 2 hours. About 6 hours to Aberdeen…..7-ish with a couple of stops.