Caerlaverock Castle

 

Sunday 18th May 2025

It was very peaceful overnight in the Anchorage carpark and we woke to another beautiful blue sky and unbroken sunshine.

I set the sat nav for Dumfries and another free parkup at Caerlaverock Castle and Nature Reserve.

There's actually two castles, the original one is just foundation stones in the grass and the rebuilt castle is ruins.

It was a lovely walk through the Nature Reserve to get there with views over the river estuary and great walks through the woods.

Hobbit Cottage

Caerlaverock original Castle

Caerlaverock Castle. . . . . just foundation stones

Caerlaverock 'new' Castle

During the afternoon we had electrical problems in Ed the motorhome that I couldn't get to the bottom of.

So we faced the prospect of having an evening with no TV, lights, water or heating. 

God forbid we might have to talk to each other, lol.

Seriously, it wasn't looking like much fun, so we decided to cut our losses, have some tea and head for home this evening.

So that's what we did.

It been a great few days in South West Scotland with fantastic weather,  fantastic scenery and friendly people, so a very enjoyable few days.

So many people seem to go driving past south west Scotland heading for the Highlands, but there's plenty here to make it a worthwhile destination for a few days.

I still have the North Coast 500 itch that will have to be scratched at some point, it's just finding the right time to do it.

It's a heck of a long way to go, and if the weather is cold and wet . . . . . maybe not so enjoyable ? 

Only one way to find out.

Update : electrical problems all fixed, it was just a fuse, phew !

 

Culzean Castle

 

Saturday 17th May 2025

Our park up overlooking Ailsa Craig (Paddy's Rock) was ok, a bit too crowded for my liking, so probably one I won't bookmark for future use, but never the less, it served it's purpose well.

We left after breakfast and headed for Culzean Castle a few miles up the Ayr coast.

I wasn't sure whether to come but I'm so glad we did.

It has a spectacular position on a cliff overlooking the Irish Sea.

The grounds are large with lots of interesting features and the castle has a lot of history attached.

It was built for the Kennedy family as a means to impress their peers, which I'm sure it did.

It was largely designed by Robert Adams, he of the fireplace fame.

Internally the house is interesting, without being that impressive although it does seem to have at least one of Adams fireplaces in every room.

But far the most impressive views are of the castle exterior and surrounding countryside and rocky coast.

So it was an enjoyable day looking around in glorious weather.

Nessie ?

A rare sight in Scotland, dry brown grass !

An even rarer sight, sunbathers in Scotland

Our park up for tonight is a pub stop in a quaint little fishing harbour called Dunure a few miles further up the coast from Culzean.

There's a pretty harbour and the Anchorage pub sits right on the harbour front and we can overnight on the carpark at the back.

It's only small bit I squeezed in ok.

Dunure Castle and beach

Local teenagers doing what teenagers do on a hot day,
jump off the harbour wall

The Anchourage Pub

We had a good tastey meal in the restaurant washed down with a pint of Doom Bar for me a wee dram of whiskey for Sue.

Dunure Castle ruins at sunset.