The Castle Trail

Hi again!

I am so far behind I almost forgot that I didn't tell you all about one of my weekends away in the northeast corner of Scotland! Wow!!! That was a really fun weekend that I am very excited to share about! So here it goes!

One of my favorite places in all of Scotland is Cruden Bay, where Slain's castle is located. Slain's castle is the previous seat of the Hay Clan (my ancestors, well, some of them - I'm a Duncan too!) Slain's castle is perched right on the cliffs over the sea and it is an AMAZING view. This is not like the other ruined castles where it is taken care of and made safe for the general public - no, this is a RUIN in all senses of the word. No caretakers - nothing, just the way I like it. I took a coastal path (of course it was raining, as usual) and got soaked in the process of the 2 mile journey through some boggy marshland and also a wheat field - ssshhh, don't tell :-) I got a bit turned around, but eventually the castle was spotted! The castle had been added on to many, many times in the past so it truly was like a maze. I really wish I could have seen the castle in all its glory and saw how it all flowed. Over the course of the years of occupation it was blown up twice by the owners of the castle (they were a bunch of nutters it would seem :-) Yea, for my ancestors!) Most recently, and this was in the late 1800's, Bram Stoker, who used to vacation in Cruden Bay, used Slains Castle as his inspiration for Dracula's Castle. Pretty neat, eh?

I also got to visit another one of my favorite castles in Stonehaven, Dunnotter castle. Dunnotter, is also built right on the cliffs, but is a little more dramatic in its presentation because it is built on a little rock island of sorts that is only attached to the mainland by a small strip of rock. Again, one of the most beautiful castles in all of Scotland. It was here that the Scotland Honors (the crown jewels) were hidden from Oliver Cromwell when he attacked Scotland in the 1600's. Legend has it that they were secreted out of the castle by being sewn into the clothes of the washer women that were allowed to enter the castle during Cromwell's siege of Dunnotter. Cromwell's men even helped the washer women carry their laundry baskets from the castle to their cart :-) Those sneaky Scotsmen were pretty smart :-)

My next adventure took me on an 8 mile hike along the coast by a little town called Portsoy. It started out a bit mundane, but the closer I got to the coast the more outstanding the view was. Eventually my path led me to Findlater Castle - another TRUE ruin in all senses of the word. I had to climb down a step embankment and then cross a small strip of land to get to the castle that was truly built right into the cliff wall. Many parts of it had fallen down and there were huge gaping holes in between the different levels of the castle, but it was so amazing to be there. I can only imagine how cold it would get in those rooms when the wind was blowing on a cold and blustery night in the middle of winter. Perhaps I took more risks than I should have when exploring this castle, but.... it was worth it!

Onto another castle, I warned you, this was a castle trail! Huntley Castle is like most other castles you need to pay to get into, except they had some terrific stonework with such detailing that I can't compare it to any other place. The section of the house where the front door is, has a 3 story tall, ornate stone carving, that I have no idea how they managed to create. The fireplaces and mantles were also works of art in the stone cutting world. (on a side note, I got to stay in a true castle that was now a hotel in the town of Huntley and it was pretty neat. One of the most interesting parts of my stay was chatting with the castles owner and him recounting how he had only known his wife for 8 days before they got married - it was love at first sight, and still is over 40 years later! All together now, Aaaawwwhhh!)

My last stop was Glamis Castle, this castle is still used as a residence, so it is completely filled with old furniture and everything else you need to really get a feel for what life is like living in a castle! This is where the Queen Mother (the current Queen's mom, who died in 2002 at the ripe old age of 101) was born and grew up. They have many ghost legends and haunting tales to tell of murder and mayhem. The castle dates back to the 1400's and lots of history has been made here. What castle would be complete without their very own herd of highland cattle! Yup, out back there were many highland coo's. Some were mama's with their babies and others were some nasty looking males, waiting to trample you if you climbed over the fence :-)

Whelp, I know it was another long post, and its my own fault for falling so far behind, but hopefully I have kept you all entertained for most of it! More fun to come in the next storytelling time! See you later!