Stonehaven Aberdeenshire 2026.

This year it was decided to return to Stonehaven and take two of our youngest grandsons away for a weeks holiday ‘by the shore’. Stonehaven, as we discovered previously, has a lot to offer to keep two lively boys occupied.

The Queen Elizabeth Caravan Park belongs to the Caravan and Motorhome Club 

and is highly recommended. Its a well set out and organised site. It has large fully serviced pitches, ample space for a Motorhome and the site facilities are exceptional clean and warm with plenty of hot water. The staffs were friendly and very helpful. 

To reach Dunnnottar Castle takes a wee walk along the coastal path which we weren’t sure the boys would be happy to complete? But all went well and our visit was worth while’s as they seemed to enjoy the delights of this ruined castle.

Described as one of Scotland’s most impressive ruined castle, its location on a rocky headland jutting into the North Sea also makes it one of the most dramatic. Originally linked to the mainland by a narrow strip of land which was removed to increase its defences there is however quite a climb to gain access but well worth the effort. 

 

A missionary station associated with St Ninian first occupied the rock in the 5th century. It was not until 1390 that the first stone castle was a built by Sir William Keith and remained in the Keith family, later the Earls Marischal, until 1716 when the 10th Earl, George Keith, lost his Earldom and forfeited his estates which included the castle because of his loyal support for James Frances Edward Stuart and the Jacobite cause.

 

The Castle has many other links to Scottish history. In 1297 legend has it that William Wallace, during the Wars of Independence and following Edward 1st of England’s invasion of Scotland, trapped 4000 English troops in the castles Chapel where they were seeking sanctuary and set a fire condemning all inside to a terrible death, any who did escape were driven over the cliff edges - it was said that no one survived. 

 

Mary Queen of Scots stayed at the Castle on two occasions. The first a few days after the beheading of Sir John son of 4th Earl of Huntley in 1562 and again in September 1564 when she spent two nights there. It also has links to Charles 1^st and The Honours of Scotland, currently housed in Edinburgh Castle. When Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentary Army invaded Scotland he came after the Scottish Crown Jewels. Crown, sword and sceptre were smuggled from Edinburgh to Scone Abbey were Charles 2nd was crowned and then onto Dunnottar Castle. From there they ended up at nearby Kinneff Church where they remained until 1660.

A deep fried mars bar was a just reward on the way back. 

The following day the boys were happy to spend the morning on their bikes as it was safe to cycle around the site and also, with care, into the town.

One of the nearby coastal attractions is the celebrated Stonehaven Heated Open Air Swimming Pool. Its famed for being the UKs only Art Deco Olympic sized heated seawater lido and is one of only two remaining functional open air pools in Scotland. A grand afternoon was spent at this very popular facility.

Another walk  along the coastal path lead us to  the Chapel of St Mary and St Nathalan. The historic ruined chapel and the Cowie Kirkyard is situated atop the high sandstone cliffs just north of Stonehaven Bay. The site itself dates back to the 7th century when a Christian place of worship was established by St Nathalan. 

Interestingly several Scottish monarchs, in particularly James IV are said to have worshiped here. 

The surviving whinstone ruins date back to the 13th century but fell into disuse in the early 1560’s following the Scottish Reformation. The boys spent a good while discussing how long the buried corpses would take to completely decompose and we agreed it would depend on many factors!

 In the graveyard are many fine memorials including one in memory of to the crew of the Stonehaven lifeboat who drowned on the 27^th February 1874 whilst going to the rescue of the Grace Darling.

From Stonehaven there are good bus links to Aberdeen the third largest city in Scotland known as The Granite City because of the its handsome grey granite architecture. It was a very prosperous town that was originally dependent on fishing and trade until the discovery of oil in the 1970’s. Its grand mix of shops and history make it a town worth visiting.

Generally the weather was good and the boys were quite happy but never more happy eating giant ice cream cones from Aunt Betty’s. So overall a successful holiday. 

National Mining Museum Scotland.

The wonderfully restored Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange, Midlothian, opened in 1885 by the Lothian Coal Company and closed in 1981. Now protected as a Category A listed site it houses the National Mining Museum Scotland telling the story of coal for Scotland through two floors of exhibitions, interactive and tours, retracing the footsteps of thousands of miners and their families who relied on the colliery to make a living.

The Tour begins.

We booked the tour lead by a very friendly and knowledgable former miner who gave us an insight into the workings of the pit.

There were also two floors of permanent exhibitions, The Story of Coal and A Race Apart, which details the daily lives and struggles of mining families. 

The cage.

The Road Way leading to the coal face.

Supporing the working coal face.

Cutting Machine.

Moving coal.

Steam Winding Gear.

Union meeting.

Miners transcending the road way.

Washing after his shift in front of the hearth. 

Washing the dust down.

Mr Moo’s Touring Park. Skipsea, East Yorkshire. May/June 2026.

Mr Moo’s Touring Park is a family-owned holiday park that is famously integrated with an award winning ice cream farm and parlour. Which means its a very short walk to treat your self to one of the 18 gorgeous flavours of ice cream, on display, you might as well make the most of life's opportunities. The ice cream parlour also includes a restaurant serving hot food and at weekends a takeaway Chinese food hut operates at the entrance of the camp site.

We had a full serviced hardstanding pitch for six nights that included EHU, your own fresh water supply and a grey water drain. Facilities were clean and warm. Although the  ‘free’ Wi-FI was not very good. The nearest general shop/post office was in Skipsea which is a 20 minute walk from the site and like all general convenience stores is well stocked.

There is a wide footpath from the site down to the shore, which has an accessible sandy beach only when the tide is out. The English Coastal Path runs along the coast but the cliff erosion makes this a wee bit dangerous and you must be careful to stay away from the edge.

These coastal cliffs suffer from the some of the fastest rates of erosion in Europe, at a rate 1.5 to 2 meters per year, but can loose up to 4 meters  of more annually. This is apparently due to the cliff being made up of soft boulder clay which has little or no resistance against water. Wave and weather action is another reason, along side no sea defences, for this erosion.

Hornsea is a traditional seaside town, its centre has a rather old fashioned feel with many independent shops. Its situated 5 miles from our camp site so we decided to cycle, although the the B road that takes you to the town is very busy.

Once though the town there is a grand tiered promenade that runs the length of the well maintained beach and a nice spot to sit and enjoy your  piece. Also situated adjacent to the shore is The East Riding Leisure Hub, which provides the town with a gym, swimming pool, squash courts and the towns library. 

Although as i have pointed out the coastal path can appear quite dangerous you can, with care walk in both directions. Head north along the path and you will approach the village of Skipsea and its convenience store. 

At the west end of the village you will find The Church of All Saints which dates back to the 11th/12th century. Unfortunately we were unable on this occasion to gain access to its interior. 

On a rather warm and sunny Sunday morning we walked 3 miles south along the coastal path to a very big and crowded car boot sale and a indoor market at Skirlington.

The market and car boot sale is one of Yorkshires largest. It has apparently been running for 40 years and covers a 70 acre site. Both the car boot and the market is exceptionally well attended. It was proposed in the the past to close the market but local opposition the market will remain open. Plenty of free car parking and places to eat. Made a nice change and the weather held while we walked back.