Caerlaverock Castle: Day 38 – Scotland 2017
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13 May 2017
We woke warm and cozy in our room at Hillcrest House, but the world outside was quite the opposite. Rain had moved in, and the temperature was all too happy to stay rather low. Our time in Wigtown had come to a close, and we were about to set off on our final day of exploring Scotland before making our way back to Edinburgh. Our day started with a hit, followed by a miss, another hit, and then a – rough but safe landing? Either way, we still made the best of it and had a great day.
Our first stop, well in the opposite direction of where we needed to be going, was Cream o’ Galloway. If you read our last post, you’ll probably understand why we chose this route. I needed that sticky toffee ice cream one more time before leaving it behind! We were there when the doors opened and made the lady laugh when we asked for ice cream at nine in the morning. It was 100% worth it.
Galloway Conservation Wildlife Park
As I stated earlier, the weather had taken a chilly turn. It was a bitter, damp day, and our next stop was outside. By the time we arrived at Galloway Conservation Wildlife Park, I wasn’t feeling very well (I refuse to blame the ice cream). We were, unsurprisingly, the only car in the parking lot, and when we went inside to buy tickets, there wasn’t a soul in sight. We finally started calling ‘hello’ until a very grumpy employee came in and asked us if we seriously wanted to buy tickets and walk around to see empty environments since all of the animals would be inside. Awkwardly, we said we’d still like to give it a go, and he begrudgingly sold us tickets.
While he was right, most of the animals were bedded down in their little homes, we still saw a few things. I was hoping to see otters and red pandas, but we had no luck there. We did see some beautiful owls, though, and that was worth it. Wet through and freezing, we wrapped up our visit and stiffly got back in the car. With the heat on high, we headed off to the next destination.
Caerlaverock Castle
Our final castle ruin of the trip was the one that Billy had been looking forward to the most. Caerlaverock Castle is a medieval fortress that has a unique triangle shape. Matching gate towers and a moat make it an epic location. The castle saw a turbulent history since it is located so close to England. It was constantly swept up in border conflicts. The castle was sieged multiple times, but it finally met its match in 1640. The castle held out for 13 weeks but finally surrendered. Once captured, the army took everything of value and destroyed the south curtain wall, effectively rendering the fortress unusable.
While it is a ruin, there is so much left that is still standing. You can explore through so much of the castle, and you can bet that we left no stone unturned. I can’t find words to describe how incredible this castle is. It’s absolutely breathtaking in its current state.
You can also explore the foundations of an earlier castle nearby, just a short walk into the woods. In classic Monty Python style, the original castle site was abandoned because it kept sinking into the marsh. The area was eventually discarded for sturdier ground at the castle’s current location.
I feel as though I’ll have to let the photos speak for themselves, but there was something magical about this castle. The grand staircase just begs to be used by women in flowing gowns, and you can imagine people looking down from the many empty windows. Ghosts of winding staircases and long unused fireplaces call out from the shadows. It is truly a place of wonder. It should come as no surprise that this turned out to be our favorite ruin of our entire trip.
Finding A Place For The Night
We had booked a tent pitch not too far from Caerlaverock Castle, but upon arrival, we realized that it was just a spot to throw out a tent. No toilets, no water. We decided that squatting in the middle of the night in freezing temperatures wasn’t what we were feeling at the moment, so we headed towards Edinburgh, thinking we’d get a hotel room for the night.
Nope. Every single hotel we passed was fully booked. All of them. It turns out there was a rugby match on and practically all of Scotland had descended upon the stretch of road that we were traveling. We lucked out and found a campsite with one space left available. It was a far nicer camping area than the one we had earlier passed on, so we said goodbye to our dreams of a warm bed and accepted our fate of a chilly night in the sleeping bags, listening to an entire campground cheer for their team. Was it ideal? No. Did we have a great time anyway? You bet.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy
