Craignethan Castle and Culzean Castle: Day 36 – Scotland 2017

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11 May 2017

Nothing starts a day off better than a delicious breakfast with great company. We ate with Les and Margaret, our new-found friends from the previous night’s dinner. By the time we left, there were hugs and laughter all around. I hope that anyone else who stays at Station House has the same great experience there that we did.

Once on the road, we prepared for the two castles we’d be taking in for the day; Craignethan Castle and Culzean Castle. We struggled for quite a while to find Craignethan Castle, but it was well worth the effort.

Craignethan Castle

Craignethan Castle is the ruin of a 1500s artillery fortification. When someone tells you that all ruins are the same, they’re wrong. Craignethan Castle is unlike any ruin we’ve been to. Its history is also tumultuous. Instead of trying to find a way to rewrite it, I think it best if you check it out here.

While Craignethan Castle may have been ahead of its time, it was incredibly short-lived. After just 50 years, it had gone from riches to absolute ruin.

The castle holds a few interesting titles, including being the last private residence built in Scotland with high defense capabilities. It also contains a caponier, one of a few in Scotland and the first ever built in Britain. This feature makes Craignethan Castle unique in another way.

A large ditch separates the keep from an outer courtyard. To reach the castle, enemy forces would need to go down into the ditch, across, and then up the other side. A caponier is a covered walkway of sorts that runs along the bottom of the ditch, and from here, defenders of the castle can fire muskets at those trying to cross the ditch. In the photo below, we are standing in the ditch and looking at the caponier. Enemy troops would be running parallel to the caponier. Now, imagine trying to cross the ditch while being shot at. Clever design. The upper walkway would not have been there.

The ruin is fascinating to explore. You can still go to the upper levels of the keep, even if it’s only to get a good view. Seeing as how the castle was destroyed, you can imagine that it was left uninhabitable. My favorite part of the entire structure is the partial spiral staircase. Something about it speaks to me on a totally different level. We had the castle to ourselves for the entire morning, and we took full advantage of that. We climbed everything possible and explored every nook and cranny. It may not be as grand as some of the other ruins or castles we’ve been to, but it has a charm all its own. And as we learned later in the day, grandeur does not always mean a joyful experience.

Culzean Castle

Our second stop of the day was Culzean Castle, an 18th-century mansion perched on the cliffs of Ayrshire. To say it is magnificent would be an understatement. It is opulence to the 10th degree. I love exploring houses like this because they are packed with so much history and room after room to explore. I wanted that to be the case for Culzean Castle, but we had a rough start from the moment we arrived, and unfortunately, it put a damper on our entire visit.

The drive up to the castle is beautiful, and as you get closer, there is a booth where you stop and pay your entrance fee. We had a very confusing conversation with the woman at the booth, which resulted in a misunderstanding. We were sure we had to pay, but she told us to go, so we went. And then she was screaming at us to stop because we had to pay. We did so, happily, but she was very rude throughout the entire experience. I don’t know if it’s because of that encounter right off the bat, but we spent the rest of the day not feeling very welcome. Most of the other staff were perfectly nice, although there were a few that weren’t. As much as we wanted to enjoy it there, we left with mostly negative thoughts.

However, the mansion itself is stunning, and I’d love to go back and give it another chance. The things I remember most about Culzean Castle are the kitchens, the amazing oval staircase, and walking the trails on the estate. Also, that view over the Firth of Clyde. Spectacular.

Wigtown

We would be staying the night in a little place called Wigtown. This was 100% my choice, and reluctantly, Billy agreed to it. Wigtown goes by another name: Scotland’s National Book Town. See where I’m going with this?

If you’ve been following along with our entire Scotland adventure thus far, you’ll have noticed that I’d picked up quite a few books along the way. Well, I was about to greatly add to that. But not until tomorrow. For the evening, we checked into Hillcrest House, walked the town, and had a great dinner out. I also scouted all of the bookshops I wanted to hit the next day. So. Many. Bookshops.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy