The Grand Master’s palace

Buchanan Castle ruins

A wander around Buchanan Castle on a cold, crisp Sunday afternoon.

Castle Campbell sunset

A browse through some of our 19th century books made us decide to take a drive to Airth to explore Airth Old Parish Church that stands in the grounds of Airth Castle. Disappointingly, our trip was in vain as the ruined church is entirely cordoned off with Heras fencing.

With no plan B, we decided on the spot to drive on, crossing the River Forth over the Clackmannanshire Bridge heading for Dollar with the intention to have another wander around Dollar Glen and one of our favourite castles, Castle Campbell.

The castle, also known as Castle Gloom, is managed by the National Trust for Scotland and stands imposingly at the top of Dollar Glen where the Burn of Sorrow and the Burn of Care join to form the Dollar Burn. Simply a stunning medieval castle in a stunning location.

After exploring the waterfalls on the Burn of Sorrow and admiring the views from above the castle, we headed back down when the sun started to set. A slight detour onto the hillside above the Born of Care rewarded us with a stunning sunset.

Torwood Castle

Torwood castle…

Old Castle Lachlan reflections

On a lovely Sunday afternoon we decided to leave Auchoirk slightly earlier than normal and take the scenic route back to Glasgow along the East shore of Loch Fyne via Otter Ferry rather than the much faster route via Glendaruel.

We stopped off at the parking on the shore of Lachlan Bay for a short break and a stroll along the shoreline while admiring the ruins of Old Castle Lachlan on the other side of the bay.

Black Castle of the Minstrels

Exploring what’s left of the Black castle of the Minstrels at Kilchoan when on a day trip to the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse while staying at Kylesbeg in October 2002.