Getting a taste for yesteryear: History and confectionery in perfect harmony in Stonehaven

I’M standing amid the ruins of an ancient fortress, perched on top of a rocky promontory where it towers above the North Sea.

My head is spinning, not from vertigo but from the endless, breath-taking views and the mind-boggling statistics attached to this imposing edifice.

Below my feet the rock on which Dunnottar Castle stands is an unfathomable 440 million years old.

People have lived on this spot – close to Stonehaven in beautiful Aberdeenshire – as far back as the third century.

Archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen found evidence of Picts living on the sea stack of Dunnicaer, just north of the castle, with carbon testing confirming it was the oldest Pictish fort ever discovered.

Braveheart William Wallace captured Dunnottar way back in 1297, while Mary Queen of Scots visited the fortress for the first time in 1562. And it was from Dunnottar that the Scottish Crown Jewels were spirited away to prevent their capture in the mid-1600s by Oliver Cromwell’s invading English army.

Little wonder then that this precious slice of Scots history captivated film director Franco Zeffirelli who made it the location for his 1990 movie Hamlet starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close.

And Zeffirelli and I aren’t the only ones who appreciate this historic landmark.

Castle custodian Jim Wands has revealed that for the first time last year, the ruins – which welcome tourists from across the globe – broke the 100,000 mark, a nine per cent increase on 2016.

Dunnottar is easy to get to by car, but not great for anyone with mobility problems or with young children in tow.

There are well over 100 steps to tackle and while the path is clearly marked, the ascent is steep and rocky and should be approached with care.

My family and I decided to trek the five-kilometre (three-mile) coastal circuit to the castle. It takes about two hours and starts just south of Stonehaven Harbour, arguably one of the prettiest in Scotland.

Stonehaven Harbour itself comes with an equally colourful history.

A mecca for pirates in days of yore, it was a key location during the Jacobite period and saw many landings from both sides of the fight. In 1715 James the Old Pretender landed at the harbour and during the 1745 uprising, French troops are also said to have dropped anchor here.

Today the harbour hosts working and leisure craft, while its quayside is lined with vibrant pubs and restaurants like the characterful Ship Inn. Built in 1771, it lays claim to being one of the oldest in the area and offers good food and comfortable rooms.

Stonehaven is also home to the Tollbooth Museum, which is thought to date back to the 1500s. The museum has a string of artefacts, including those used during the building’s former life as a prison. Our little gang was fascinated by the Inverbervie Stocks, one of the few seven-hole stocks in the UK.

But there’s more to Stonehaven than its castle and harbour. Like its wonderful 1930s outdoor pool, thought to be one of only two such lidos in Britain.

This huge Olympic-sized 50-metre pool contains clean sea water heated to a 29 degrees Celsius (84 Fahrenheit).

Sunset at Second World War Memorial near Stonehaven (Getty Images)

Floating, hands behind head and staring into an azure sky peppered with fat white cumulus clouds, we could almost have been in the Caribbean (without the cost or the 10-hour flight). This place offers fun sessions with inflatables for kids, a paddling pool for the under eights and even midnight swims beneath the stars in peak season – heaven.

And there’s an onsite café , free parking and a play park nearby. But no family trip to this coastal haven is complete without a visit to Aunty Betty’s sweetie and ice cream parlour on the promenade, just a stone’s throw from the pool.

Its shelves are laden with traditional sweeties in glass jars – Aniseed Twists, Yorkshire Mixture, and Liquorice Wands, along with the most spectacular array of home-baked cakes and cookies. It was the ice cream selection, however, that knocked our socks off – right down to the vegan cones.

Our mini break could be summed-up in just one word – sweet!