Hidden Scotland
Sign in
A fishing harbour village in Aberdeenshire, small boats moored before colourful waterfront buildings.
Aberdeenshire

Stonehaven

A harbour town fifteen miles south of Aberdeen, its old quarter clustered round a sheltered harbour with the 16th-century Tolbooth, a crescent of beach and Dunnottar Castle a mile away.

Welcome

Fifteen miles south of Aberdeen, Stonehaven gathers round a bay, with high ground to the north and south making a natural amphitheatre and a crescent of sand and shingle along the front.

At its southern end is the harbour, the only safe haven on this whole stretch of coast in a north-easterly gale, and the old town crowds round it.

A breakwater was first built here in the 1500s, and around 1600 an old grain store on the quay became the Tolbooth. Along the harbour front stand the Ship Inn of 1771, the spiky-towered Town House of 1790 and the Marine Hotel of 1884, with fishing boats and yachts moored below, and on the hill above the harbour the view spreads over the whole town and bay.

At the other end of the front is the open-air pool of 1934, an Art Deco seawater lido. And a mile to the south, along the clifftop path from the harbour, stands Dunnottar Castle.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 14 November, from Scotland with love. A red kayak beached on a loch shore beneath sunlit rocky hills, Sutherland

Before you go

A town, open at all times.

There is a public car park by the harbour behind the Tolbooth, and the railway station on the Aberdeen to Dundee line is a walk from the centre. The clifftop path to Dunnottar Castle starts from the harbour.

Where
Fifteen miles south of Aberdeen, on the A92 and the railway.
To see
The harbour, the Tolbooth, the beach and the open-air pool.

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review

Did you know

Small boats lie moored in a harbour before a row of stone houses and a hotel, wooded hills rising behind under a cloudy sky.
Did you know

A safe haven.

Stonehaven's harbour was the only safe haven on this coast in a north-easterly gale.

A curved stone harbour packed with small boats sits below a town of stone houses, a sandy beach and green hills stretching along the coast.
Did you know

The Tolbooth.

The Tolbooth on the quay was converted from a grain store around 1600.

A chef scoops a dessert into a container at a professional kitchen counter.
Did you know

The Ship Inn.

The Ship Inn has looked over the harbour since 1771.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Aberdeenshire

The harbour town of Stonehaven lies just 15 miles south of Aberdeen and has grown over the centuries from a modest fishing village into a bona fide beach resort, complete with an Olympic-sized open-air pool, a lively cultural calendar, and some excellent seafood options. If it’s open, call in at the Tolbooth Museum, set in an old storehouse on the waterfront.

Read more
Graeme Johncock

Every Hogmanay, the people of Stonehaven celebrate with dozens of locals swinging fireballs down the main street before launching them into the harbour.

Read more
01 / 06

Where it is

On the Kincardineshire coast, fifteen miles south of Aberdeen, on the main road and railway.

Close byStonehaven.
  1. Connie & Ruby's shop interior with a red counter and colourful trinketsMy Beautiful CaravanUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. The white front of the Carron Fish Bar in Stonehaven with its sign about the deep-fried Mars bar.The Carron Fish BarThe Stonehaven chip shop where, the story goes, the deep-fried Mars bar was first fried, in 1992.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. The white front of the Ship Inn on Stonehaven harbour.The Ship InnAn inn of 1771 on the edge of Stonehaven harbour, with malts, real ale and a sun terrace.Under a mile 2 min by road
  4. Swimmers and sunbathers round Stonehaven's open-air pool on a sunny day.Stonehaven Outdoor PoolAn Art Deco seawater lido of 1934.Under a mile 2 min by road
  5. Plated chicken with tagliatelle and artichoke on a white-clothed restaurant tableTolbooth Seafood RestaurantSeafood in the old Tolbooth on the harbour.Under a mile 3 min by road
  6. Dunnottar CastleDunnottar CastleThe clifftop fortress of the Earls Marischal, a mile south.3 miles 6 min by road
Directions
The white front of the Marine Hotel on the harbour at Stonehaven.BarsThe Marine Hotel0.5 miles
Man in chef's cap leans from serving hatch at thebayfishandchips.comRestaurantsThe Bay Fish & Chips0.5 miles
The ice-cream counter at Aunty Betty's under its painted ceiling.CafeAunty Bettys0.5 miles
The white-streaked sea cliffs of Fowlsheugh above blue water, a seabird in flight.AttractionsRSPB Scotland Fowlsheugh4.7 miles
Waterfall dropping from grassy cliffs into a sheltered sea inletAttractionsRSPB Fowlsheugh4.7 miles
Grass-topped limestone cliff with a thin waterfall dropping into the seaAttractionsCrawton Waterfall4.8 miles
Brae's bright café room, a counter of bakes and tables by big windows.CafeBrae at Chapelton6.2 miles
The white Creel Inn at Catterline with its sign, a lobster creel on the terrace.RestaurantsThe Creel Inn6.3 miles
Rowing boat "The Gray Starling" sits among wildflowers overlooking a rocky sea stackAttractionsCatterline Bay6.5 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the town, and when each is next free.

A stone cottage with a slated roof and black stove pipe sits beside a gravel drive, foxgloves and wildflowers lining the path.No 4 Steading Cottage
  • Sleeps 7
  • In Strachan
  • 14 miles from Stonehaven
Free 15–16 NovA stone steading with a slated pyramid roof and a chimney stands behind a green nameplate sign, a chair visible through the window.No 2 Steading Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Strachan
  • 14 miles from Stonehaven
Free 15–16 NovAn aerial view shows a white harled farmhouse with multiple chimneys set beside a gravel courtyard and stone outbuildings.The Coach House
  • Sleeps 12
  • In Strachan
  • 14 miles from Stonehaven
Free 14–15 NovA mint-green sitting room has a cobalt-blue velvet sofa with orange and green cushions, two floor lamps with teal shades either side, a rustic wooden coffee table, and framed abstract and sunset prints on the wall above.The Corner House
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Strachan
  • 14 miles from Stonehaven
Free 14–15 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in AberdeenshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here

Read on

What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Aberdeenshire.

From the magazineWhat's On in Scotland: Autumn and WinterFrom the magazineFishing Towns and VillagesFrom the magazineExperiencing Scottish Traditions Through Local EventsCollectionThe Prettiest Villages in Scotland
More in Aberdeenshire

Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .