Ravenscraig Castle and Park

Officially the first castle of the year!

Ravenscraig Castle (not to be confused with the woods we did earlier this year) is a pretty desolate ruin on the beach by Kirkcaldy. Ironically, one of my work offices is right by the castle and, until today, I had no idea it was there - I've driven right past it dozens of times!

It was a family affair with the hubby, my brother, Maisie (aka Little Miss Pouty), my mother and Missy all meeting up for the walk. We met at the lower car park by the beach and the weather has definitely turned to spring, so everyone found the day very enjoyable. We started with a walk along the beach and to the dovecot before going through the park and over to the castle itself. Pouty is coming along very well and has (mostly) figured out her recall - now all she needs is to learn to pose for me!

We finished with another stroll on the beach going in the opposite direction and met Hector, a very energetic and bouncy labradoodle who insisted on coming along with us on our walk and played with both Missy and Maisie. When one of our two started to lose interest, he'd provoke them into another round of chase by thieving either Missys squeaky duck or Maisies stick.

Missy has never understood the appeal of sticks. They don't squeal like a dying animal so she isnt interested - and knowing friends whose dogs have suffered impaling injuries from sticks, I'm not going to encourage it. So she gets a squeaky toy instead!

Last week was a holiday over to Copenhagen to celebrate my father in law retiring (hence the missed post) and it was a really nice holiday. I ate far too many cakes and sweets, which is surely a sign of a great holiday! Missy got to have a holiday with the dog walker and I was really pleased to get photo updates each night - a much better alternative for all of us than kennels! 

Last time we kennelled her Missy she chewed her paws to the meat (she displays anxiety by licking/chewing her paws) so it turned out to be a very expensive experience once we included all the vet bills... Never again. This was our first proper trial with more than an overnight stay boarding and all of us were relived to find her in one piece - it certainly opens the door for us to go overseas a little more frequently.

In sewing news, I finished one of my really big projects just in time for the Chinese New Year which I teased in my last post: A full family ensemble in Chinese silk:

Super pleased with them - and they were well received and all fitted perfectly which I was pleased about - I always panic about sizing and the final fit when I don't have the recipient on hand. There are more detailed shots on my Instagram @missdaisysewing.

Creeping about Craignethan Castle

So, we had intended to do the jousting today at Caerlaverock Castle today - an event I had really been looking forward to, but with the hubby on antibiotics for a chest infection and myself fighting off a cold, the predicted forecast of 98% chance of heavy rain and thunder just meant it was a no-go. A two hour drive to stand in the rain, whilst most weekends wouldn't deter me, was just not going to happen. Guaranteed we'd have all gotten grumpy with one another and just ruined the whole weekend!

We've done pretty much all out 'local' dog friendly castles, and have been scoping those further afield but still within sensible day-tripping distance - at 45 minutes away and promising a riverside walk in addition to a day wondering about a castle, we settled on giving Craignethan Castle a shot. 

Its a stout little castle that isn't done justice in the photos. One of the most intact of the ruins about the central belt, its boasts plenty of spiralling staircases up towers and down into cellars. We timed our visit well, arriving just as another couple were leaving, so basically we had the place to ourselves. We allowed Missy off the lead owing to the very narrow spiral staircases, and explored some of the peculiar features of the castle - particularly the caponier (the only surviving one in Scotland, apparently) which is basically a roofed building in a ditch for shooting people from.

Unsurprisingly, with it being designed by James Hamilton of Finnart, the kings master of works in the 1500's, its the most 'modern' of the castles in the area. With only the roof really missing, and the majority of the internal castle intact, its genuinely interesting to see how an architect of castles would build their own home. It was recently home to a badger, a story that went viral, and they were keen to keep the momentum going with a badger themed kids quiz and a badger sticker should you get the questions all right. We helped Missy with the quiz, and were pleased to come away with a sticker for the effort - certainly one of the most enjoyable quizzes we've done for a while! Altough Missy is barred from badgers, her last encounter with one left her with a lot of stitches and left the ubby and I with a rather large vet bill! Cute animals, but dangerous!

Within the grounds of the castle is the entrance to Netham Gorge, a mile long riverside walk into the nearby village. We were over confident of ourselves, and found the trail very steep with lots and lots of steps - a good walk, but perhaps not suitable with all the rain we've had! Missy had a tremendous time running through the undergrowth and hunting voles and bunnies. The village didn't turn up anything dog friendly but, as it was hammering with rain by that point, we didn't venture far, so I cant say that is the case for sure! Turning round, we all headed back to the car and dried off on the drive home.

Now for a well deserved cup of tea (or two) whilst we wait for a gap in the weather for Missy's evening walk - not that I think she's worried about one as she's fast asleep on the sofa in her dressing gown!

Sunny Days and Long Strolls

I feel I talk about the weather a lot, but when your furbaby insists on an average of two hours a day walking, your life starts to revolve about it. This last week has been constant niceties to the other dog parents - "Spring is definitely here now!", "Isn't this sunshine wonderful?", "Rumour says more snow" and my personal favourite; "I honestly don't care if its warm or cold, at least its dry!"

That sums up the weekends weather, dark cloudy mornings and then glorious sunshine with a chilly wind. Once in shelter, its glorious, but its certainly that time of year where you fear not bringing your coat then end up taking it off and putting it back on at least five times a walk! With that in mind, and the fact that the summer opening hours on all the historic Scotland sites has kicked in, meant it was a perfect weekend for a family outing to a castle.

Between my niece volunteering last summer at Linlithgow Palace, my constant inviting people along to the castles with us and last years jousting, pretty much everyone in the family now has a pass with Historic Scotland, so its a good cheap day out that lets everyone get some fresh air and much needed vitamin D. We have done Bothwell before, so I will spare you all the history, but it was the first time my brother, my sister and her two kids had seen it, so was well worth the revisit. Sadly the Beast from the East has damaged some of the foundations, so we were unable to get into the dungeon, but there's still plenty to see and wander about in.

This time we added the riverside walk to the day. It was my brother who had spotted it when looking up the castle, and it was a splendid way to burn off our picnic we had on the castle grounds. The path was just sheltered enough that it felt warm and pretty soon the kids were climbing in trees and insisting I get their photos. They love that my camera bluetooths to my phone so that they can see a big version of the picture instantly rather than crowding around a tiny screen.

"Wee Ben"

Missy's little cousin Ben had come along for the day too and, though he isn't trusted off the leash (he will chase anything - cars, bikes, joggers etc) he did very well and kept up with us all. He dislikes bridges, and wooden stairs you can see through which, as I'm used to Missy who has absolutely no fear, was very odd although I did feel sorry for him crawling nervously about, so insisted people carry him (I would have, but I have a strict one dog per person rule when in groups and was in charge of Missy).

And that was our little day out. My brother has definitely got the castle bug, so expect to see plenty more! The hubby and I are also thinking about our annual "staycation", and are tempted either doing the Isles or going up Elgin way to get a bunch of sites ticked off the list. I'll let you know what we decide on when I know!

Till next time!

Castle Campbell and Gardens

Well, Autumn is well and truly underway and we've officially moved to the 'off-season' part of the year for interesting days out. CastleCampbell has been on the to-do list for a while now as its the site that the Historic Scotland app recommends for taking your dogs.

 

And we were not disappointed. We parked at the 'low' car park and took the walkway up to the castle - we were told it should take an hour to do the walk, but even with my constant stopping to try and get another waterfall photo, we managed it in half that. It was good or Missy to get off the lead before we did the castle as we had left quite early and therefore she'd only had a very short walk to begin her day.

 

As with most castles of the central belt, this one was a symbol of wealth and power and had never really seen any kind of attack barring one where Royalist rebels tried to burn it to the ground over two days. Originally known as Castle Gloom (derived from the Gaelic meaning chasm) it is situated at the top if a hill and surrounded by gullies and waterfalls. There is enough still standing that you don't feel cheated out of a castle, but it's certainly one of the smaller sites.

 

The views from the tower were stunning, and as always we did the kids quiz. No sticker this time for the hubby, even though we got them all right! The 'gardens' is also a 3 tiered garden with lots of benches - inside the tower there is even a sort of picnic room, so it's definitely one of the best equipped castles I've seen in regards to providing space to sit and eat.

 

There was plenty of dogs about as well, which is always nice, and Missy showed off her spiral staircase skills to her new canine friends. By that time it was getting cold and the light was beginning to fade (the nights are certainly drawing in quickly) and we took the longer route back down to the car park and enjoyed a stunning view of the castle. Don't let the length of the post fool you - we had a wonderful time and are already planning on taking the in-laws when they next visit!

Kildrummy, Glenbuchat and Corgarff Castles

We were visiting the out-laws this week as a continuation of the birthdays (the hubby and I have our birthdays 6 days apart). It was just a quick visit up and down again due to other commitments, but it's always nice to go away where you don't feel obliged to get on with jobs. With storms hitting Northern Ireland, we had a nice lazy day where it really just rained and rained. Poor Missy fell into a puddle up to her neck and, after that, she was rather indignant about the whole being-out-in-the-rain malarkey and was quite happy roasting herself by the wood burning stove.

A very old Flash

Missy and her Uncle Flash get along very well, although it was quite upsetting to realise that, now 12, Flash is really starting to get quite old and isn't able to keep up anymore with her. Whilst he's been slowing down for some time, this is the first visit we've had were he's decided that he won't even try to follow her through the woods.

We had already decided that we may as well take advantage of the more northerly location and get a few of the castles in the Aberdeen area ticked off the list. Bearing in mind that Flash was struggling a bit now, we decided to keep the day simple and avoid anything with too much in the way of spiral staircases.

 

The first castle we managed was Kildrummy. Despite the rain of the previous day, the weather was glorious, and I suspect one of the last true days of summer we'll have this year. The sun and the warm weather appealed to both dogs as they explored the ruins quite happily. Described as the 'noblest of northern castles', I must confess, I would have loved to have seen this castle standing. As it is, it's a complete ruin - parts of the towers remain, but there's no stairs remaining and it offers only hints of its once grand past. My favourite part of the castle was the tower remains, although watching both dogs peer down the towers latrine was a good comedy moment!

 

Next on the hit-list was Corgarff Castle which is a bit of a misnomer! This one was a pleasant surprise for us as it is a completely intact medieval tower house and was used by both Jacobites and redcoats. Most of the central belt revolves around Mary Queen of Scots, so it was really refreshing to see a different bit of Scottish history and warfare. We stopped for a terribly British picnic of tea and sandwiches before going inside to explore. Dogs weren't allowed inside this bizarre little building that stood bleakly on its own on the hillside, so we took turns walking them around the star shaped outer wall whilst the others went inside and explored the twisting allegiances this building held. One of the particuarly nice things about this building is that some of the rooms have been recreated, including the guards quarters and you can also choose your allegiance by means of dress up!

 

As a small hat trick, we managed to bag one last castle on the way back. Glenbuchat is currently closed because of renovation work, but we managed a small walk around the building. By this time both the dogs were tired and the weather had begun to turn, so we called it quits and went back for a well deserved cup of tea with both dogs snoring soundly away.

Just a short post today!

Caerlaverock Castle and Crawick Multiverse

Monday was my birthday and I decided that what I wanted to do was continue on our quest to get all the Historic Scotland castles ticked off our list and go for a nice day trip with Missy and just not make a bid deal of things.

I've really fancied Caerlaverock Castle since I'd first seen it in the guide book. A bizarre triangular shaped medieval castle that had undergone siege and battle, complete with towers and a real moat, it ticked all the boxes. We hadnt done this one before as, located in Dumfries with a drive time of two hours, it was definitely a day trip.

And it did not disappoint! The weather held fair and the black murky moat contrasted beautifully with the red sandstone, making this castle dominate the local scenery. I'd been told the castle fitted into the 'fairytale' description and, looking about the courtyard and the beautifully carved fireplaces, I was forced to agree.

We stopped for a homemade bento (the book and containers an early birthday gift) and looked out through the ruined curtain wall, over the boat and into the woodland beyond. The foundations of the original castle are still visible some 200m away and we enjoyed a nice stroll around there. The original castle was abandoned as it was too close to the sea and started to sink (the original owners apparently really wanted a moat!)

To justify the drive back, we visit a little gem called the Crawick Multiverse which is an outdoor art installation inspired by the galaxy and our connection to it. Whilst there, we walked past comet collisions, through the Milky-way and climbed up the Andromeda galaxy (where Missy decided to pee on it).

The area is huge and we could easily have spent far more than the two and half hours we were there. Its beautifully designed and, as it so quiet, we allowed Missy off the lead and she bumbled along beside us completely missing the point of her continued education! The weather had begun to turn though so we made our way back to the car and got in just as the heavens opened.

Missy standing atop the centre of the Earth

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. 

Tantallon Castle and Dirleton Castle and Gardens

It's been a weekend for castles!

Missy loves looking out of windows

The hubby decided he wanted to see a real 'proper' castle and, thanks to our Historic Scotland passes, I found Tantallon. It had a (dry) moat, check, had seen actual battles, check, held a defensive position, check, and wasn't originally built as a palace, check. And as a bonus, there was another castle and gardens (Dirleton) just around the corner to justify the hour drive to get out to North Berwick.

Tantallon Castle

Tantallon is an imposing castle. It grips onto the edge of the cliff like a broken gargoyle, its ruined state mostly due to Cromwells efforts to invade Scotland and the fact that a Royalist band had set up in Tantallon and were disrupting his communication lines. It was mostly held by the notorious Douglas' and its ownership history makes interesting reading. It was refreshingly free of references to Mary Queen of Scots, which makes a nice change!

Bass Rock visible to the left

This was a great site for Missy. There was a quarter mile walk from the car park where we let her off the lead, and the grounds itself is obviously home to fleets of bunnies and voles - her nose didn't stop twitching for the whole visit. There was a multitude of narrow winging stairs, and the other dog owners complimented Missy's mastery of them - I was bemused to meet a German Shepherd that apparently couldn't manage them at all, I had always assumed the smaller breeds would have struggled more!

The winding stairs are worth it. The views from atop the castle are stunning. Bass Rock (home to millions of gannets) can be easily seen out at sea and Berwick Law dominates the inland landscape. I could have spent longer getting pictures, but after stopping for lunch, we decided to move onto Dirleton before the weather turned.

Direlton Castle and Grounds is exactly the kind of castle the hubby had been meaning when he said we hadn't done a proper castle. Built in peaceful times in the 1200s, it was to a show of wealth. Saying that, it has seen its fair share of battle, surviving two wars of independence before Cromwell came along and finished the job, leaving it a ruin. Like most castles, it has been added to over time and is a rabbit warren or old and new parts (or slightly less old, really).

The huge dovecot

 It does have a drawbridge though and perhaps one of the most beautiful dovecots I've ever seen that would have housed 2000 birds in its day. The grounds are beautifully kept as well and Missy was incredibly perplexed at the bowling match we saw taking place. I tried explaining to her that the balls were not bunnies, but I don't think she quite believed me and just stood completely on point and alert.

 

Whilst the stairs are not quite as tight or winding as Tantallon, they are quite uneven and had become rather slippery in the light drizzle. As a result, we decided to let Missy off the lead on the stairs, one of us going ahead to catch her at the other end and clip her back on. The steps leading to the pit (or dungeon) were particularly uneven and the only one she struggled on, but I suspect that was intended in the original design of them!

 

All in all a great day. We called it quits at just the right time as the drive home was in torrential rain and now we're all enjoying some nice hot tea whilst Missy is snoring away on the sofa beside me.

It has made me want to do some more of North Berwick, I did a boat ride out to Bass Rock when I was a kid and fancy doing it again, and Yellowcraigs, the local beach, is perhaps one of the nicest in Edinburgh. If the summer decides to get its act in gear and be nice for more than a morning, we might manage another day trip!

Until next time!

Crichton Castle

What is this, you ask? Two posts in a week?!

Its the summer and its busy season for us! We always try and fit in lots of walks for Missy in the good weather - often just being somewhere new is just as good for her as a mammoth trek round the normal stomping grounds. 

Crichton Castle is another Historic Scotland site (and I did the maths, we have more than made the money back on the passes - the jousting really helped towards that!) in the Edinburgh area. Its not one that I would consider well known, I mean, I'm local to the area and had no idea it existed, so this was a surprising little gem of a castle for us.

Built in the 1400s and expanded in the 1500s, the most eye catching feature of this castle was the beautiful facade upon the inner wall - seeing as its made of sandstone and open to the elements, I was surprised at how well its held up. Most of the stairs are broad and were easy for Missy to manage without tying everyone up in knots, and the odd shape and build of the castle really comes into its own as you try and figure out how on earth people have gotten onto the higher landings. 

The wonderful facade

As usual with the Scottish castles, just trying to figure out which family had it when (and of course how does Mary Queen of Scots figure in this one as she's somehow involved in all the castles (hint: she attended a wedding at this one, which is the most strenuous link I've seen yet!)). The set up of this castle was more 'rugged' than most - there was a fair trek to begin with along a gravel path and a lot of the floors where very uneven - not a problem for us, but worth bearing in mind if your mobility isn't great. 

The day had defied expectation and it turned into a beautiful evening and we decided to follow the lead of some other dog walkers and check out the grounds about the castle. We weren't disappointed as we very quickly dropped into some woodland and then into a wide open grassland of wild flowers and thistles. there was just enough of a breeze to keep the midges away too - overall a very nice walk and day out! And on that note, it was off back home to a nice cup of tea and a choc ice!

A Busy Holiday

Well, we're all just back from a long dog walking holiday (I say just, we got back Friday, it's just taken me this long to find the time to sit down and recap the weeks adventures!).

Typically, we go to the Lakes each year, but this time we decided to check out our own home turf a bit more and do a staycation in Scotland, namely the Trossachs area. A quick internet search had showed us that, whist lacking in dog friendly museums like Keswick, there were a few dog friendly gems on offer to check out.

The Kings Knot

 Monday we stopped in Stirling for the day and basically walked the entire old town. Missy enjoyed hunting for ghosts in the beautiful graveyard by the castle and we found the Kings Knot, an odd little gem of a dog walk. The castle doesn't allow dogs, but we still managed a look around the grounds and got the first ice cream of the holiday there. Despite her best efforts, Missy got no ice cream although I did share the end of the cone with her!

We finished our drive up and through Killin, where we were based for the duration of the holiday. It's one of these lovely little villages were sadly everything closes at 4 - we managed to pop into the post office and get some leaflets for the local area and the owner of the place fell into the trap of Missy's flirtatious stare and gave her several of the free-to-try anchovies. She certainly seemed to enjoy them, although my suspicions that the dog thinks she's a cat have begun to creep in again!

The village was short on take out options but the Cowry was recommended to us and, discovering the pub part was dog friendly where we could shelter from the elements, we were not disappointed.

Tuesday was Loch Katrine. It was the only day of the holiday that really rained, and fortunately the hardest squall hit whilst we were safely inside the boat enjoying our island tour of the Loch. The steps leading to the top were far too steep to even think of taking Missy up, so we were enjoying a cup of hot tea as the rain struck and all the other passengers gave up and joined us. Whilst the hubby and I found it very interesting, I don't think Missy thought much of it seeing as she slept for the majority of the ride!

We then went on a four mile round trip to the Loch view point and back before heading back to Killin for a late lunch in the Capercaillie pub. My in-laws have stayed in Killin many times and, for the afternoon walk, we decided to follow the directions to the crannog that was supposedly in the area. I felt we did well following them, and we certainly all enjoyed the hours walk around Loch Tay, but we could not find that crannog for the life of us! We managed to find a patch of signal and called my FIL who informed us that the island I had previously admired was it, and did he mention to me about a castle in the area...

We gave up on the crannog and rescheduled it for another day. The weather had turned close and we were all being eaten alive by midges so decided on getting an early night for the next adventure.

Inchmahome Priory was the highlight of the week for me on the Wednesday. It's a Historic Scotland site where you have to take a boat out to a tiny island where a beautiful old ruin is located. Missy was a darling and shyly said hello to anyone who would pat her on the boat and then she made friends with a little toddler who, every time we passed them by, would shout "Doggie!" and demand his father take him over to see her again. It was a glorious day and we all enjoyed a picnic looking out onto the lake, although we were somewhat scuppered for a good stroll when we realised that the island was only half a kilometre across!

We stopped in Callander on the way back and took a quiet evening to ourselves. Missy spent the evening snoring on the sofa alongside hubby.

Missy awaits her fate on trial

Thursday was a last minute call. We had originally planned a day trip to Oban, but deemed it too far in the end. Inveraray Jail has long been on our to do list and, at an hour away, was a realistic option. We'd seen flyer for it before and the tagline of 'Fun for all the family - even the dog!' had sold it to us before we'd even looked into it properly.

An 18th century jail, it was a fun insight into the justice system of Scotland. Despite the somewhat grim subject matter at times, it was explained very well and the audio tour was both informative and interesting but not dry at all.

We finished the evening giving the crannog a second go (we did find it!) and also found the castle ruins before we had our last evening meal in the Cowry pub. Missy fell asleep in front of the fire where she chased rabbits in her dreams.

Awaiting her picnic

We had had grand plans for the trip back of stopping in Perth, but decided to just stop at Huntingtower Castle instead. Another Historic Scotland site, this one allowed dogs on the grounds but not within the castle itself. The hubby and I took turns going in and out of the castle whilst we filled in the quiz and then enjoyed our lunch in the sun on the grounds.

And then we were home and Missy insisted on peeing on every fence and lamp post as we trudged around her usual stomping ground - I like to joke to people that she's checking her face book feed!

Until next time,