I have ventured out to another couple of Historic Scotland’s castles over the last few weeks. Many of their popular sites don’t open again until the end of March so it was a case of restricting ourselves to their “Winter Castles” – at least the ones that were reasonably accessible during inclement weather.
We actually saw two remarkably differing structures. Bothwell Castle is an imposing and remarkably substantial fortress built in a deep red sandstone on the banks of the river Clyde. Like most castles it has been battered by the ravages of time and siege but this must have been one tough cookie to attack. The walls in places are several meters thick and in the height alone must have made defending soldiers impervious to attack.
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| Bothwell Castle |
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| Bothwell Castle - inside looking towards the chapel |
Dirleton castle, although damaged by a siege from Cromwell, offers a more stately view of what castle life must have been like. Apart from anything else, the surrounding gardens are superb although, being the middle on Winter, there wasn’t that much on show – a visit again in the Summer months is a must. Still, it has one of the grandest of grand entrances.
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| Dirleton Castle - main entrance |
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| Dirleton Castle - steps down to the gardens |
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