Vanessa's UK tour: Dundee, Dunnottar and Aberdeen

*From the archives 2014*

This week Vanessa has ventured to Dundee, Dunnottar Castle, and Aberdeen.........

So as many of you know, I’m currently on a semester exchange at Glasgow Uni. As I’m only here for such a short time, I’ve really been trying to make the most of it! One way I’ve been trying to do this is to tour as much of the UK as possible. Each week, I’ll try to write about a place I’ve been and hopefully entice you to get out of the city and see all of the awesome sights that the UK has to offer!

Last week, I visited Dundee, Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven, and Aberdeen on the northeastern coast of Scotland. I got to go with an awesome tour group, ISUK Tours. ISUK is affiliated with the University of Glasgow, mainly run by students, and organizes affordable coach trips to interesting places all around the UK. Check them out!

We first made a quick stop in Dundee, a quirky city filled with cute statues of penguins and comic book characters from iconic comic strips that were created in the city. 

Soon after, we visited the stunning, incomparable Dunnottar Castle. I’ve been to quite a few castles and castle ruins during my time here, and trust me—if you only ever get to see one castle in Scotland, make sure it’s Dunnottar. I don’t think any of the pictures I captured can really live up to the experience of seeing it in person!

Dunnottar is situated on a sloping hill rising up from a stunning, windswept coastline. The powerful waves crashing against the jagged crags of the coastline gave the castle an incredibly adventurous, romantic feel. No wonder they based the castle for the Disney film 'Brave' on Dunnottar!

Our last stop was Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland after Glasgow and Edinburgh. Known as the Granite City and The Oil Capital of Europe, I expected Aberdeen to be quite industrial - I was pleasantly surprised at the refined, pale grey architecture of the city. Aberdeen also has quite a lovely beach! We were lucky enough to visit on a day where there was intermittent rain with stretches of sun and blue sky so there were rainbows everywhere!

So, if you’re reading this, I hope I’ve instilled an itch in you to get out and get travelling. Stay tuned for more adventures!