Scotland Guide
Northeast Scotland
Northeast Scotland comprises the area east of a line drawn roughly from Perth to the fringe of the Moray Firth at Forres. The area takes in the county of Angus and the city of Dundee to the south and, beyond the Grampian Mountains, the counties of Aberdeenshire and Moray and the city of Aberdeen. Geographically diverse, the landscape in the south of the region is comprised predominantly of undulating farmland, but as you travel further north of the Firth of Tay, this gives way to wooded glens, mountains and increasingly harsh land fringed by a dramatic coast of cliffs and long sandy beaches.
Highlights
1 DCA Arts centre at the hip heart of Dundee that's a symbol of the city's regeneration.
2 Meigle The Pictish stones in the museum here are fascinating carved relics of a lost culture.
3 Dunnottar Castle The moodiest cliff-top ruin in the country.
4 Museum of Scottish Lighthouses Lights, lenses and legends at one of the best small museums in the country, in Fraserburgh.
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a pretty little harbour town, split into two parts, the picturesque working harbour most likely to detain you. On one side of the harbour, Stonehaven's oldest building, the Tolbooth (June– Sept Mon & Wed– Sun 1.30–4.30pm; free), built as a storehouse during the construction of Dunnottar Castle, is now a museum of local history and fishing. In the northern part of the new town is Stonehaven's wonderful open-air Art Deco swimming pool (June & Sept Mon– Fri 1–7.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; July & Aug Mon– Fri 10am–7.30pm, & Wed 10pm– midnight, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; £3.50; 
www.stonehavenopenairpool.co.uk ), opened in 1934 and always packed with locals on a sunny day.