The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (published as Sophia’s Secret in the UK) is one of my all time favorite books. When we decided to holiday in Scotland, I knew I would want to see Slains Castle and walk in the steps of protagonists Sophia and Carrie.

My husband and I spent two nights in Cruden Bay at St. Olaf’s Hotel, the inn and restaurant that fictional author Carrie visits for fish and chips. It was also the hotel where actual author Susanna Kearsley stayed when she was researching The Winter Sea. I neglected to take a picture of the hotel, but I did take this  cell-phone photo from my room. The view of Slains Castle out my window had me hopping up and down.

Slains Castle was every bit as incredible as I thought it would be. The castle features prominently in The Winter Sea, and it is also listed as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Here are some pictures of us exploring the ruins.

 

In Kearsley’s novel, Carrie and Sophia go for many walks along the cliffs above the North Sea. My husband and I took a bus to the small town of Boddam, located seven miles north of Cruden Bay, and walked back. We took the Eastern Coastal footpath, part of which included the well-kept trail of the Longhaven Cliffs Wildlife Reserve. It rained for most of our walk, but we anticipated the Scottish weather and were well prepared with good raincoats. Even with the clouds, the views were spectacular.

 

I was especially excited to see the Bullers of Buchan, an interesting geologic formation that Carrie and Graham visit in the book.

We had a wonderful time in Scotland, and my favorite part was our walk along the eastern coast. Surprisingly, many of the guides about visiting Scotland make no mention of this area. It can be our little secret–or, perhaps we should say we discovered Sophia’s Secret.