Stonehaven is a picturesque coastal harbour town, 52 miles north of Dundee and 14 miles south of Aberdeen, where the A90 and A92 meet. Once you have arrived in "Steenhive", just follow the tourist road and fingerpost signs!  Stonehaven is also on the National Rail Network, and the National Cycling Network passes by Stonehaven Open Air Pool.  The town is blessed with friendly folk, cosy pubs, restaurants and hotels, various B&Bs and a broad spectrum of leisure and sporting facilities including bowling (indoor and outdoor), tennis, golf, angling (sea and river), and excellent countryside and woodland walks. An illuminated boardwalk promenade runs along the sweep of Stonehaven Bay, connecting the Harbour with the Open Air Pool. On this boardwalk stroll, many folk stop to admire the huge steel sculpture of a bottlenosed dolphin, erected in recognition of the many visits made to the Stonehaven coastline by pods of these friendly and inquisitive creatures, from their usual home base in the Moray Firth further north.  "Splasher the Dolphin" is also the mascot logo of our Open Air Pool! The town lies at the edge of the Highland Fault, a geographical feature which runs westwards to Helensburgh and divides the mountainous Scottish Highlands from the flatter Lowlands. For some remarkable photographic images of Stonehaven, take a look at Martin Sim's website.

The southern coastal approaches to Stonehaven are guarded by the dominating presence of historic Dunnottar Castle, set on spectacular rugged seacliffs which also house the RSPB's Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve, one of the largest mainland UK seabird colonies, which can be visited by road or by charter vessel from Stonehaven Harbour.

This is the utterly captivating view of Stonehaven and its harbour from the Bervie Braes on your return car trip (or ramble) from nearby Dunnottar Castle. It is recognised as one of the finest harbour townscapes in the whole of Scotland.