Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. It had a population of 11,177 at th
2022 Census
Stonehaven was formerly the county town of

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...

, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine. It is currently administered as part of

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. The town is known in the local Doric dialect as ''Steenhive'' () and is nicknamed ''Stoney''.

Pre-history and archaeology

Stonehaven is the site of prehistoric events evidenced by finds at

Fetteresso Castle Fetteresso Castle is a 14th-century tower house, rebuilt in 1761 as a Scottish Gothic style Palladian manor, with clear evidence of prehistoric use of the site. It is situated immediately west of the town of Stonehaven in Kincardineshire, slightl ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

excavations from the

Spurryhillock Spurryhillock is a Mesolithic archaeological site and modern industrial estate at Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of ...

area. In 2004, archaeological work by CFA Archaeology, in advance of the building of the Aberdeen to Lochside Natural Gas Pipeline, found two short cists burials containing cremated remains to the southwest of Stonehaven.

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

put the burials in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, which was the Early Bronze Age in Scotland. The burials contained

stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...

artifacts and shale/cannel coal beads. That same year, researchers at the

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; ) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, and holds internationally important collect ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

announced that a fossil found by an amateur paleontologist the previous year was the earliest known fossil of a land-dwelling animal. The fossil was about 420 million years old.

History

The town lies at the southern origin of the ancient

Causey Mounth The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed around the 12th century Anno Domini, AD as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen, a ...

trackway Historic roads (or historic trails in the US and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient track ...

, which was built on high ground to make passable this only available

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

route from coastal points south of

. This ancient passage specifically connected the

Bridge of Dee The Bridge of Dee or Brig o Dee is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527,Richards, J.M., ''The National Trust Book of Bridges'', Jonathan Cape, 198 ...

Cowie Castle Cowie Castle is a ruined fortress in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site lies at the northern end of Stonehaven on the North Sea coast. To the immediate south is the Cowie Bridge crossing of the Cowie Water. Evidence of prehistoric man exists ...

via the

Portlethen Moss The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve located to the west of the town of Portlethen, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Like other Bog, mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subjec ...

and the Stonehaven central plaza. The route was taken by the

Earl Marischal The title of Earl Marischal was created in the Peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland. History The office of Marischal of Scotland (or ''Marascallus Scotie'' or ''Marscallus Scotiae'') had been hereditary, held ...

and

Marquess of Montrose A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow ...

when they led a

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

army of over 9,000 men in the first battle of the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

in 1639. The Covenanters were imprisoned in

Dunnottar Castle Dunnottar Castle (, "fort on the shelving slope") is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the northeast coast of Scotland, about south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th ...

, where many died. A memorial to them can be found in Dunnottar Church. Other castles in the vicinity are

and

Muchalls Castle Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well-preserved Romanesque, double-groined 13th-century tower house structure, built by the Frasers o ...

, both of which are in private ownership and not open to the public. The oldest surviving structure in Stonehaven is the

Stonehaven Tolbooth The Stonehaven Tolbooth is a late 16th-century stone building originally used as a courthouse and a prison in the town of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Constructed of local Old Red Sandstone, the prison probably attained its greatest note ...

at the harbour, used as an early prison and now a museum. Dunnottar Castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop, was home to the Keith family, and during the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

, the Scottish Crown Jewels were hidden there. In 1296, King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

took the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

only for

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

to reclaim it in 1297, burning down the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in the process with the entire English garrison still in it. In 1650,

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

sacked the castle to find the Crown Jewels following an eight-month siege (having previously destroyed the English Crown Jewels). However, just before the castle fell, the Crown Jewels were smuggled out by some ladies who took them by boat to a small church just down the coast in the village of

Kinneff Kinneff is a roadside hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, just north of Inverbervie.Kinneff.

Jacobite town in the Fifteen and it was a safe base for the retreating Jacobite army to stay overnight on the night of 5–6 February 1716. In the Forty-Five Stonehaven, part of the

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

north-east, was again ‘reliably Jacobite’ and it was one of the north-eastern ports where reinforcements, plus money and equipment were periodically landed from France. After 1709, when

Dunnottar Parish Church Dunnottar Parish Church is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, serving Stonehaven in the south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is within the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Kincardine and Deeside. During 2020, the congregation united to ...

was taken over by the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

Episcopalian services were held in the tolbooth until a meeting house was built in the High Street in 1738. Following the failure of the Forty-Five, the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

ordered the building's demolition. Services were then held in a house on the High Street. Stonehaven Town Hall, which is an events venue in the town, was completed in 1878. Near the Cowie Bridge, at the north of Stonehaven, was a fishing village known as

Cowie Cowie may refer to: People *Cowie (surname) Places *Cowie, Aberdeenshire, an historic fishing village located at the north side of Stonehaven, Scotland **Cowie Castle, a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland **Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathal ...

, which has now been subsumed into Stonehaven. Somewhat further north are the ruins of

. Slightly to the west of Stonehaven is the ruined

Ury House Ury House is a large ruined mansion in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, built in the Elizabethan style in 1885 by Sir Alexander Baird, 1st Baronet. It is situated on the north-east coast about north of Stonehaven in the former county of Kincardinesh ...

, originally a property of the Frasers. A

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

of the oldest known land animal, '' Pneumodesmus newmani'', a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

millipede Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derive ...

, was found at Stonehaven's Cowie Beach in 2004.

Geography

Stonehaven is 15 miles (24 km) south of

sheltered in

Stonehaven Bay Stonehaven Bay is a natural harbour in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The town of Stonehaven is built along the shore of Stonehaven Bay. The mouths of the Carron Water and the Cowie Water The Cowie Water () is a river of Scotland. Geography The r ...

. The Carron Water and

Cowie Water The Cowie Water () is a river of Scotland. Geography The river rises in the Grampian Mountains (Scotland), Grampian Mountains in Kincardineshire, and discharges to the North Sea in the northern part of Stonehaven,United Kingdom Ordnance Survey ...

run through the town. Stonehaven lies adjacent to a deeply indented bay surrounded on three sides by higher land between Downie Point and Garron Point. The harbour, consisting of two basins, was improved in the 1820s by the engineer

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

(grandfather of the author

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

), and became an important centre of the 19th century

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

trade; the harbour is bordered on the north by

Bellman's Head Bellman's Head is a headland point comprising the northern boundary of Stonehaven Bay in Stonehaven, Scotland.United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map, Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale 2004 The corresponding headland at the so ...

and the south by Downie Point. At the western edge of Stonehaven west of the

A90 road The A90 road is a major north-to-south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh, through Dundee and Aberdeen. Along with the A9 road (Scotland), A9 and the A82 (road), A82 it is one of the three major north–south tr ...

lies the village of Kirkton of Fetteresso. Nearby to the south,

Fowlsheugh Fowlsheugh is a coastal nature reserve in Kincardineshire, northeast Scotland, known for its cliff formations and habitat supporting prolific seabird nesting colonies. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Scottish Natur ...

is a coastal

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

, known for its 230-foot-high cliff formations and habitat supporting prolific seabird nesting colonies. Stonehaven has grown rapidly since the

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

boom in Aberdeen. The increasing demand for new, middle-class housing has seen four new estates being appended to the town, creating an expanse of

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s and Stonehaven has been bypassed since 1984. Parts of Stonehaven near to the Carron Water were prone to

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

following heavy rain.

Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire Council is the local authority for Aberdeenshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since its creation in 1996. It is based at Woodhill House, which is outside its own territory ...

has completed construction of flood defenses in 2023 that have now been effective at preventing flooding from major storms. The

Highland Boundary Fault The Highland Boundary Fault is a major fault zone that traverses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east. It separates two different geological terranes which give rise to two distinct physiographic ter ...

traverses Scotland from the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; ) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Counties of Scotland, Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the ...

and

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

on the west coast to immediately north of Stonehaven on the east coast.

Parks and green spaces

The largest park is Mineralwell, situated adjacent to the Glenury Viaduct which carries the

Dundee–Aberdeen line The Dundee–Aberdeen line is a railway line linking Dundee and Aberdeen in Scotland. History The present line was built by three companies. The first section to open was the line from Dundee to Arbroath in 1838, constructed by the Dundee and ...

. St Kieran's Well, a grade-C listed public fountain, is situated in the park. It was restored in 1982, though its water supply has since been severed. The park contains one of the largest purpose built radio controlled car circuits in the UK, located at the edge of the park beside the viaduct. The John McRobert Pavilion was opened in the park in 1993 and an artificial turf pitch opened in the park in 2015. The park is home to a

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

. In 2021, 120 cherry blossom trees were planted as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project. The trees are dedicated to

Thomas Blake Glover Thomas Blake Glover (6 June 1838 – 16 December 1911) was an Anglo-Scottish merchant in Bakumatsu and Meiji-period Japan. Early life (1838–1858) Thomas Blake Glover was born at 15 Commerce Street, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in northeast Sc ...

. Nearby Baird Park occupies an area of four acres and was given to the town by Sir Alexander Baird in 1920, though it had been leased to the council for the previous twelve years. Stonehaven Recreation Grounds was opened in 1885 and is situated near the beach. It is owned by the council. It contains

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s and a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. Dunnottar Woods is a woodland area managed by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...

Education

The town has a secondary school, Mackie Academy, which was founded at the site occupied currently by Arduthie School. Mackie takes pupils from a relatively large chunk of southern Aberdeenshire with its catchment zone stretching from

Johnshaven Johnshaven is a coastal village along the North Sea located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. About southwest of Johnshaven lies Milton Ness, which includes a red sandstone cliff landform. The flax industry, sailmaking and fishing have historically ...

and

St Cyrus St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus (), formerly Ecclesgreig (from ) is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. General information Traditional salmon fishing with nets is still conducted from St Cyrus beach. Two ice houses that used to pro ...

(Although the primary school is in the catchment area for Mearns Academy in Laurencekirk) in the south to Netherley in the north and out to

Drumlithie Drumlithie is a village in the Howe of the Mearns in southern Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Situated seven miles south of Stonehaven in the parish of Glenbervie, it is affectionately known by locals as "Skite", although the origin of this name remains d ...

in the west. The feeder primary schools include: Glenbervie, Inverbervie, Lairhillock, Gourdon, Catterline, Kinneff, Arduthie, Mill’o forest, Dunnottar and Carronhill. There are three primary schools: * Arduthie School is one of the three primary schools in Stonehaven serving a large portion of the north and east of the town as well as the surrounding countryside to the north-west. * Dunnottar School was founded in 1889. It is linked to the notable Parish Church and the historic Dunnottar Castle and is located at the edge of the old town. It serves the old town and the majority of the countryside surrounding Stonehaven As part of the Stonehaven flooding in 2009 the school was affected and pupils had to be relocated for a week while work was undertaken. It is currently due to close. * Mill O' Forest School, is located in the newer part of Stonehaven and serves the south and parts of the north of the town. It opened in 1977. One

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

school, Carronhill, opened in 1975. It is situated in the newer part of the town near Mill O' Forest Primary School.

Commerce and culture

Historically the chief commerce of Stonehaven lay in fishing. Led by the

fishery, the catch peaked around the year 1894 with a peak catch of about 15 million fish per annum and employment in the fishing industry of 1280 people. Due to overfishing to serve the expanding regional population, the fishing industry declined with diminishing catches, such that by 1939 only a remnant of the earlier fishing fleet continued to exist, and the catch mostly supported the local population from that point onward. Glenury distillery was situated near Mineralwell park, and closed in 1985. Currently, the town's primary industries are marine services and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

, with Dunnottar Castle, a local landmark, bringing in a large number of tourists every year. Dunnottar Castle is regularly used in promotional material by the Scottish tourism industry; in addition, it was used in the 1990 film ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', and appeared as a featured desktop background in the UK edition of

Microsoft Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, ...

. Furthermore, Dunnottar Castle was also selected as Merida's home in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

movie,

Brave Brave(s) or The Brave(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Brave, an adjective for one who possesses courage * Braves (Native Americans), a Euro-American stereotype for Native American warriors Film and television * ''Brave'' (1994 film), a concept ...

. Situated nearby is Stonehaven War Memorial, constructed after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was unveiled by Viscountess Cowdray in 1923. It is visible from much of the town thanks to its prominent position on a hilltop overlooking the bay. Another attractive feature of the town is the long beach facing the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, with large cliffs at either end sheltering small rock pools and inlets. It is also famous for its Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool, which is heated and filled with filtered seawater. The local harbour features the

Tolbooth A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scotland, Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of th ...

, the town's small museum of local heritage. Stonehave fireballs 2003

During

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 ...

festivities, crowds watch the annual fireballs ceremony in which volunteers walk down the High Street swinging their fireball - a homemade ball of burning waste materials with a chain and handle attached. The Fireball Festival was part of the content of STV's

coverage. The fireballs are finally thrown into the harbour. It is uncertain when the fireballs began, however, reports covering the event from as early as 1911 exist. The event has taken place annually, though has been cancelled during the world wars and in 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Stonehaven's long-established pipe band plays at events throughout the year, including the folks festival and fireball ceremony. The band has competed at various levels throughout its illustrious history including several years at the prestigious Grade 1. Stonehaven also hosts a Folk Festival.

Cuisine

The town's Haven Fish Bar was the likely origin of the

deep-fried Mars Bar A deep-fried Mars bar (also known as a battered Mars bar) is a Mars bar, Mars-brand chocolate bar covered in batter (cooking), batter then deep fried in oil. The dish originated at a chip shop in Scotland as a novelty item. Since various mass me ...

, a snack now culturally associated with Scotland - and its health record - as a whole. In 2012, the (since renamed) Carron

fish and chip Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of battered and fried fish, served with chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, the dish is a common takeaway ...

shop sold around 100–150 deep-fried Mars bars per week, with tourists accounting for around 70% of this figure. The Carron was awarded No 1 Fish and Chip Shop in Scotland 2020. Another local fish and chip shop, the Bay, was awarded the number one fish and chip shop in Scotland, at the National fish and Chip awards in 2012 and 2013.

Sports and events

Every July, Stonehaven holds a Highland Games. All those competing in the heavy events (which include the Hammer, the Heavy Stone, and Tossing the Caber) must wear full

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

dress. Other events include the Stonehaven Folk Festival, regularly attended by famous Glaswegian comedian

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

. On the first Saturday in June, the Feein' Market recreates a 19th-century agricultural hiring fair. The RW Thomson Classic Car Rally is an annual celebration of the inventor of the pneumatic tire and attracts an impressive range of vintage and classic cars. There are two harbour festivals each summer. A

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

is now held once a month in the market square, where local food suppliers and producers can sell fresh fruit, vegetables, poultry, and other types of meat. Stonehaven supports a rugby club - Mackie Academy Former Pupils Rugby Football Club - which plays in the RBS Caledonia Regional League Division 1. They have previously trained on pitches at

Red Cloak Red Cloak is an industrial area of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site's settlement history is associated with events at the nearby Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan. In current times Red Cloak is primarily an industrial dominated ...

. The town has a

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

football club - Stonehaven F.C. - that plays in the North Region

Scottish Junior Football North Premier League The North Region Junior Football League is a football league based in the north east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–7 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Highland Football League. Geographically, the le ...

. Home games are played at Glenury Park, set in Mineralwell Park. There are also three amateur football clubs: AC Mill Inn, Cowie Thistle and Stonehaven Athletic, as well as Stonehaven Youth Football Club, who all play their games in Mineralwell Park. In 2015, a combination of Stonehaven Football Club, Cowie Thistle, Stonehaven Athletic, Stonehaven Youth Football Club and Stonehaven Ladies Football Club created the Stonehaven Community Football Club, which was recognised by the Scottish Football Association with a Quality Mark Community Level Award, and subsequently the Legacy Award in November 2017.

Local radio

The Local Community Radio Station ''

Mearns FM Mearns FM is a community run radio station based in Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns. There are transmitters in Laurencekirk, Inverbervie, Stonehaven and Portlethen leading to a coverage area stretching from St Cyrus to Aberdeen. Th ...

'' broadcasts to the town and surrounding area, including

Inverbervie Inverbervie (), also known simply as Bervie, is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven, in the Kincardineshire, Mearns. Etymology The name comes from Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic and means "mouth of Bervie Water". Hi ...

and

Laurencekirk Laurencekirk (, , ), locally known as Lournie or simply 'The Kirk', is a small town in the historic county of Kincardineshire, Scotland, just off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen main road. It is administered as part of Aberdeenshire. It is the l ...

. Staffed completely by volunteers, it is run as a not-for-profit organisation, broadcasting under a community radio license, with a remit to provide locally focused news, events, and programming. Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants, ''Mearns FM'' has one of the largest listening areas of any community radio station owing to the Mearns' distributed population.

Notable residents

Stonehaven was the birthplace of

Robert William Thomson Robert William Thomson Royal Scottish Society of Arts, PRSSA FRSE (29 June 1822 – 8 March 1873) was a Scottish inventor known for inventing the refillable fountain pen and the pneumatic tire, tyre. Life He was born on 29 June 1822 in Sto ...

, inventor of the

pneumatic tyre A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over w ...

. It is also the birthplace of

James Murdoch James Rupert Jacob Murdoch (born 13 December 1972) is an American - British businessman. He is the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019. He was the chairma ...

, a journalist and Orientalist, Lord Reith of Stonehaven, the first Director-General of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, and Tom McEwen, a Canadian communist politician and trade union organiser. John Ellis, an architect who was born and lived here, was responsible for many local buildings including the War Memorial. George Thomson Chapman (1824–1881), a New Zealand publisher, was born in Stonehaven.

, Stonehaven, is the

ancestral seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

of the Viscounts Stonehaven. It was built by Sir Alexander Baird, 1st Baronet in 1885. The novelist

Lewis Grassic Gibbon James Leslie Mitchell (13 February 1901 – 7 February 1935), known by the pseudonym Lewis Grassic Gibbon (), was a Scottish writer. He was best known for '' A Scots Quair'', a trilogy set in the north-east of Scotland in the early 20th century ...

(James Leslie Mitchell) attended school at what was the old Mackie Academy (now Arduthie Primary). Famous historical visitors include

and

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. Poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

met friends in Stonehaven in 1787.

Transport

The town has been served by Stonehaven railway station on the

since 1849. Initially located outside the town, Stonehaven has since grown and has absorbed the station. The

bypasses the town, and meets the A92 here. The town has a local service and is also on the

X7 Coastrider The X7 Coastrider is an hourly bus route between the Scottish cities of Dundee and Aberdeen, via Arbroath and Montrose, operated by Stagecoach East Scotland. The service runs seven days a week. History The route was introduced on 12 September ...

route between

and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. A locally run

Land Train Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

runs from the town square to the outdoor pool, Dunnottar Castle and the harbour.

Public services

Woodcot Hospital operated from 1867 to 1998. Kincardine Community Hospital continues to operate today. On 11 June 2013, it was decided by the Justice Committee that Stonehaven Sheriff Court would be closed. This was despite a petition attracting nearly 300 signatures and disagreement from the local community. Lifeboats were provided by the local charity Maritime Rescue Institute until its closure in 2013. A

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

station was subsequently established. Stonehaven Leisure Centre was opened in 1985 following an investment of £650,000 and contains sports halls and a 25 metre swimming pool.

References

External links

Video of Robert Burns Sites in the Stonehaven Area
{{Authority control Ports and harbours of Scotland Port cities and towns of the North Sea Former county towns in Scotland Highland Boundary Fault Populated coastal places in Scotland Fishing communities in Scotland