1 April: Caerlaverock Castle and Drumlanrig Castle

From Hadrian's Wall we headed back into Scotland and our first destination was the medieval castle of Caerlaverock.

Caerlaverock Castle

Caerlaverock Castle (pronounced "calaverock") is a moated triangular castle, with a twin towered gatehouse and imposing battlements. Caerlaverock’s triangular shape is unique among British castles. It is not known why it was built this way.

The first castle, built around 1220, was square in shape and one of the earliest stone castles to be built in Scotland.  Within 50 years a new castle had been built just 200m away to the north.The second Caerlaverock Castle remained a stronghold of the Maxwell family from the 13th century until the 17th century. 


The castle’s turbulent history owes much to its proximity to England which brought it into border conflicts, where it played an important role in the defence of the realm. It was besieged by the English during the Scottish Wars of Independence, and underwent several partial demolitions and reconstructions over the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1640 the castle was besieged for the last time and was subsequently abandoned. Although demolished and rebuilt several times, the castle retains the distinctive triangular plan first laid out in the 13th century.

During our visit we saw the remains of both the old and the new castle. The old castle was more or less gone, only the moat and and  indication of the floor plan remained. This original castle was in a marshy area, ideal for mosquitos, midges and the likes. We also saw a large group of frogs (the name escapes me) cramped together in the moat. They were quite fascinating to watch, as they crawled across each other in the nearly overgrown moat.

The boys had a great time at the castle. They  made their own coat of arms, solved the tasks given in the leaflet they were given when we bought our tickets, and played at the playground. Our oldest son got dressed up in a costume supplied by Historic Scotland, but our youngest son was too shy to do the same.

For those who may be interested, I found a YouTube video from the castle which gives you an idea of what the castle now looks like. The video is over 7 minutes long, but the beginning and end of the video shows the castle from the outside and gives a fairly good impression of what the castle looks like. And in the video you can also see the ever-present moss...

Drumlanrig Castle

From Caerlaverock Castle it was only a short drive to Drumlanrig Castle, so after lunch we went to see the 'Pink Palace' of Drumlanrig. This castle is one of the finest examples of late 17th century Renaissance architecture in Scotland, and very different from the the medieval castle of Caerlaverock, whose primary function was defense.

Drumlanrig was built on the site of a 14th century castle of the 'Black' Douglas family. It was constructed from pink sandstone and built between 1679 and 1691 by William Douglas, the first Duke of Queensberry.

Today, Drumlanrig Castle is the majestic Dumfriesshire family home to the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry. It is also home to part of the internationally renowned Buccleuch Art Collection featuring such treasures as Rembrandt’s The Old Woman Reading as well as many other fine paintings, tapestries and objects d’art. Like in most of the castles we visit, photography is forbidden inside the castle.

We were allowed to take pictures in the inner courtyard, where we could see portrayals of a heart borne on wings. Later on our guided tour we discovered the winged heart throughout the building, on stonework, carpets, and walls. You can read about the story behind the symbol on the Drumlanrig Castle's website. The story is a bit too long to be included here but it includes taking Robert the Bruce's heart on a crusade and the heart being thrust into enemy lines before the bearer himself died too. Quite a fascinating story and well worth reading.

Compact living in Ayr

We had booked tickets for a guided tour at Dumfries House the next morning and wanted to stay somewhere close. After dinner in a small, sad town totally without charm, we could not bear the thought of staying the night there too. We quickly decided it was worth the extra half hour or so to go to Ayr and hopefully find decent accommodation there.

Going to Ayr turned out to be a very good idea. This was a charming place and we found a really nice Bed & Breakfast with a very lovely owner. The family room was a little small for the four of us, so we ended up with separate rooms, much to the delight of the boys who got their own room, out of reach of nosy parents.

Apart from the family room, the other rooms were quite compact. It seemed like ordinary bedrooms had been transformed into bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, more or less without knocking down any walls or putting up new ones.

For our room it seemed that what had previously been a small closet had been turned into a bathroom, where the original door was blocked and a new door led to our bedroom. For the boys' room the solution was even simpler. It seemed that the former small walk-in-closet had been turned into a bathroom, complete with shower, sink and toilet. Access to the bathroom was through the original thin, sliding doors. Very space efficient indeed.