Dunnottar breaks 100,000 mark

Dunnottar Castle, near Stonehaven, attracted more than 120,200 visitors to the picturesque clifftop attraction this year.

It is only the third time that the 14th Century castle has broken the 100,000 mark – the first was in 2016 when it had 101,008 visitors.

Castle custodian Jim Wands said he was delighted with the numbers, which he attributed to the warm weather over the summer.

The final visitor tally won’t be known until the end of the year, but it’s estimated to be 124,200.

That is a 12.5% increase from 2017 when a total of 110,272 went into the landmark during the year.

Jim said: “We are delighted that so many people have come to explore the castle. We have increased year on year for the last number of years.

“We don’t know how long it can be sustained for but we are delighted at the 2018 figures.

“Many of the visitors come to Stonehaven and spend a number of days here. The town has a lot to offer people and we are happy to play a part in that.

“With the weather being great over the summer, we had a very busy July, August and September, which are normally our busiest months. We think people took advantage of it and came to visit the castle.

“We have gone through four visitor books this year with all the nice messages people have added from across the world.”

Visitors have come from as far as Thailand and America.