Description
Dunnottar's strategic location on high cliffs not only allowed its owners to overlook the shipping lanes to northern Scotland, but also to control the narrow coastal terrace between the cliffs and the Mounth that enables access to the north-east of Scotland. The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres). The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Read more about this topic: Dunnottar Castle
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