- Location: Stonehaven AB39 2JQ
- Opening times: 24 hours
- Entry: No charge.
- Access: Parking in Dunnottar Wood, charges apply.
My trips to see the sculpture Still in Loch Earn and Dunino Den in Fife were prompted by a sudden torrent of photos of each appearing on my Facebook feed, apropos of nothing. After I had been to each the torrent became a trickle and soon dried up completely. Chalk it up to the mysteries of the algorithm. Currently torrenting my FB feed is something called the Shell House, and another called Lady Kennedy’s Bath, both located within Dunnottar Woods. Dunnotter Castle was already on my to-do list, so I decided to go for a woodland wander after my visit there. Neither Shell House nor Lady Kennedy’s Bath are brown-signed or, for that matter, signed at all, so Google Maps was going to be my guide. It proved bang on in finding the former, but less on the ball regarding the latter.
Shell House is a small domed oven or beehive shaped building, known colloquially as the Shell Hoosie. Its exact origins are unknown but the general consensus is that it was built in the early nineteenth century as a summerhouse for the children of Lord William and Lady Eleanor Kennedy. This being the case, it was likely the work of architect John Patterson, who laid out the gardens of Dunnottar House (demolished 1959), the Kennedy’s home, around this time. When first built the Shell House would have been within the grounds of Dunnottar House.
The building was given B-listing status in 1993 for its cultural value, and thanks to a grant awarded by the Lottery Heritage Fund was restored in 2000 by the grotto designer and restorer Diana Reynell (1933 – 2017). That said, it doesn’t look as if it has been maintained much since then and looks a little run down and forlorn.
Shells. Lots of them.
I next set off to find Lady Kennedy’s Bath, where she and her children were said to bathe during the summer months. Google Maps informed me it was thirteen minutes away, but about halfway in it told me to turn right where there was no right turn, not even a desire path. A bit further along I came to some private residences and Google appeared to now be directing me through people’s front gardens. I’m all for the right to roam, but that was a step too far, and skirting the perimeter wall took me further from my destination.
As I contemplated my next move, i.e., asking the next person that came along where the bath was – a brilliant strategy! – the sky turned from blue to grey and the rain came down, and not just a gentle late spring rain either, but great big plooters.
Lady Kennedy’s Bath was nearby, but where and how far was unknown. I knew exactly where my car was and it was less than five minutes away. My car won. I gave it fifteen minutes to see if the rain would cease but it didn’t, so I abandoned my quest. Lady Kennedy’s Bath would have to remain undiscovered, at least by me.
Destination or Diversion?
Even if I had found the bath this would still have been no more than a diversion, but with the Shell House looking like something out of a fairy tale it could prove an enchanting one for young children.
