Put on your hiking shoes and come with me, across the "fiddlehead" (the small neck of land that connects the rock formation where Dunnottar Castle rests to the mainland of Scotland). It's a long trek through the rocks, up to the table-top acreage where we can wander from the keep, to the chapel, to the kitchen, to the stables, to the cells where hundreds of Jacobites were imprisoned, and even to the cemetery, which was described by Sir Walter Scott in his poetry. It has been reported that there are over 1,500 steps that weave their way from the base to the top of the fiddlehead.

 

These pictures are compliments of our cousins, Kay and Jon Keith. I say "our" because Kay is kin of my own, through our mutual Halletts, and Jon, of course, is of the same Keith clan as Ivan. Last year they made a trip to Dunnottar, and they were kind enough to share Jon's delightful photos with us. It is with heartfelt thanks that I share them here with you. Thanks, Jon!