This pleasant woodland walk on the fringes of Stonehaven is given added interest by follies built by the owners of the now-demolished Dunnottar House. Much of the walk follows a red waymarked trail, but our route diverges from this at several points to make a complete circuit and visit all the follies.
Woodland paths.
None to start.
Glaslaw Bridge.
Dunnottar Woods can be accessed from several points including from Stonehaven itself; however the best parking is at Glaslaw Bridge near the junction with the A92 and the walk is described from there. Begin by following the waymarked track that heads through a gate and descends gently into the woods. Soon a path goes off to the right, leading to the footbridge which is in view. The stone-built chamber in the bed of the Glaslaw Burn below the bridge is Lady Kennedy's Bath; it was built by Lady Kennedy of Dunnottar though it is not known whether she used it herself or whether it was for her children.
Cross the footbridge and head up the path on the far side; at the top of the bank it turns left downstream. Fork left to head back down to the burn to another footbridge and cross this to regain the main red waymarked route, turning right. Ignore the path off left up the steps and continue until the path reaches a tarmac minor road; the giant walls of the Dunnottar Nursery - once the walled garden of the house - are seen ahead. Cross the minor road, staggered to the right, to follow a path that soon comes alongside a massive stone wall (on your left).
At the round tower at the corner of the wall the shell house can be seen down to the right - turn right, down some steps, to reach it. This tiny domed building has its internal walls decorated by being completely covered with different shells. Like the bath it is thought to have been built on the instruction of Lady Kennedy. Continue on the path beyond the shell house, keeping right at a fork. The path now continues through the woods across the slope, just below the level of an open field up to the left, but above the burn. Eventually the path nears the houses of Stonehaven and there is a flight of wooden steps on the left - turn left up these steps and turn right at the top, following a path now running along by the edge of the field and woods.
Ignore further paths that descend to the right and steps, continuing on the main route by the field edge; at one point it descends slightly into the woods but returns to the field edge. Eventually follow the path as it bends left to gain a track which runs close to the nursery boundary and regains the minor road. Head across this onto a path opposite.
Immediately a faint path on the left offers an optional detour up through the trees onto the hilltop, the site of an old burial cairn. Just short of the summit is the ice-house of Dunnottar; the entrance is blocked off but the steps are surrounded by an iron railing. Return to the main trail, keep bearing left at two forks to keep inside the edge of the woods with a field on your right. Dunnottar House once stood near here; it replaced the apartments at nearby Dunnottar Castle in the late eighteenth century; the house became derelict in the twentieth century and was demolished in 1960. Ignore a path off to the left, keeping on the main route and eventually rejoining the outward path; retrace your steps to the start.
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