Our first trip to Slains Castle happened in April 2018. It was striking. A castle on the cliffs of the sea. At the time, the wind blew relentlessly and cold. One may have wondered whether the castle guarded against the sea, the land or the elements. Regardless, the castle must have been quite an impending sight in its zenith, because it was quite inspiring as ruins.
This time the weather for our visit was much more temperate, and the castle was just as striking. We didn’t explore inside the castle as much, because the site was well populated. But the nice weather allowed us to explore closer to the sea. There were some very nice green lawns around the grounds, and we sat down for a picnic lunch and enjoyed the food by the sea.
We also explored a bit down on the rocky crags by the sea. We found some flowers and scenic spots for pictures. We even found a number of very large jellyfish. Donna, Kathleen and I went in search of the sea caves that signage alluded to, but alas, we didn’t locate them. At least the hike was really beautiful anyway!
The castle inspired Bram Stoker for the setting for Dracula. Travel information can be found at https://www.visitabdn.com/listing/slains-castle. Historical information can be found at http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM3250 .
On the way back to Inverurie, we stopped at the Bullers of Buchan. What is a Buller, you ask? We asked the same question. Merriam-Webster defines buller as a whirlpool; where the sides rise and the center drops to form a low spot. This makes a bit of sense for the Bullers of Buchan, if you consider the center of the Bullers depressed to the sea. However the definition applies, the Bullers of Buchan are amazing. They are essentially cliffs that wrap around to meet (forming a land bridge), with an opening at the base towards the sea. The cliffs seem very tall (maybe 200-300 feet as a guess).
Sea gulls adorned the cliffs and the calls and echoes provide quite a cacophony. We captured several views, and fortunately the weather was very pleasant.
The Bullers of Buchan are perhaps a five minute car ride from Slains Castle, and well worth the stop.
And…Mo was kind enough to provide several self-portraits to add a more…ahem…personal touch for this post. Thanks, Mo!!
