I visited another one of Historic Scotland’s properties last weekend. This time it was Castle Campbell in Dollar. It’s actually not that far from us but for some reason it’s a part of Clackmannanshire that I seldom have reason to go through.
Access to the castle is interesting. There is a car park at the top of Castle Road but it is advised to avoid it due to the state of the road leading to it: steep, narrow and pot-holed. However, there did seem to be quite a few cars parked there including one rather low-slung BMW that I suspected would need repairs to the suspension afterwards. We actually parked at the lower level “woodlands quarry” (as recommended) and walked up.
The castle itself looks spectacular when approaching it, rising out of the forested glen beneath. It is also a blessed relief after walking up the steep castle road for a seemingly interminable amount of time (actually only 15 minutes but it is a solid 15 minutes climb). Although it is a ruin it is actually quite well kept, particularly the central tower which is accessible on several floors and has a self-service tea room at the bottom which was a nice touch. The roof of the tower is also accessible which gives some spectacular views of Central Scotland including the Grangemouth refinery and a disused power station.
In terms of history, it was once visited by Mary, Queen of Scots, for a wedding (unsurprising as she has stayed in pretty much every building in Scotland beyond a certain vintage) and was also visited by John Knox, the miserable Calvinist preacher, in 1556. There is a platform known a John Knox’s pulpit in the gardens to commemorate this. One assumes that this is merely ceremonial as there is a sheer drop on the other side.
On the way back to the car park we followed the path back through the glen. This actually goes straight to the lower car park and is a much nicer walk although it would be advisable to have sturdy footwear as I could imagine it would be rather hazardous on a rainy day.
The castle itself looks spectacular when approaching it, rising out of the forested glen beneath. It is also a blessed relief after walking up the steep castle road for a seemingly interminable amount of time (actually only 15 minutes but it is a solid 15 minutes climb). Although it is a ruin it is actually quite well kept, particularly the central tower which is accessible on several floors and has a self-service tea room at the bottom which was a nice touch. The roof of the tower is also accessible which gives some spectacular views of Central Scotland including the Grangemouth refinery and a disused power station.
In terms of history, it was once visited by Mary, Queen of Scots, for a wedding (unsurprising as she has stayed in pretty much every building in Scotland beyond a certain vintage) and was also visited by John Knox, the miserable Calvinist preacher, in 1556. There is a platform known a John Knox’s pulpit in the gardens to commemorate this. One assumes that this is merely ceremonial as there is a sheer drop on the other side.
On the way back to the car park we followed the path back through the glen. This actually goes straight to the lower car park and is a much nicer walk although it would be advisable to have sturdy footwear as I could imagine it would be rather hazardous on a rainy day.
No comments:
Post a Comment