Visit to Bothwell Castle

A weekend visit this time – the weather was not too great so the shots are a little gray.

Bothwell Castle is close to Uddingston  and a few miles south-east of  Glasgow. It was started by Walter of Moray in the mid 13th century but he did not do much more than complete the keep. However even in it’s unfinished state it played a major part in the Anglo Scottish wars changing hands several times.   Most interesting was the siege of 1301 when a large English force took the castle using all the classic siege equipment such as mobile towers, trebuchets etc.  It was also used as a base by Edward III in his invasion of Scotland in the 1330s.

The Douglas family acquired the castle in 1362 and rebuilt it transforming it into a major seat of their power in the region.  It did not see any further significant military operations

A cellar houses an interesting display of the military role of the Caslte and in particular the siges with an impressive collection of trebuchet balls.

The Castle is in the care of Historic Scotland.  If you have dogs they are allowed in and there is a good walk around the outside

The tower still looks pretty impressive

The trebuchet balls

The keep from the Great Hall - unfortunately it was not open when we visited

A general view of the castle from the car park

Visit to Broughty Castle

I had another half day on Friday, headed up to Dundee with Angela and Topaz, and had an interesting hour in Broughty Castle and the harbour area at Broughty Ferry at the mouth of the river Tay.

The castle dates from the mid fifteenth century with the imposing tower being completed in 1496.  It played an important part of Henry VIII’s invasion of Scotland in the mid sixteenth century, the so-called rough wooing.  Having defeated the Scots at the Battle of Pinkie the English arrived on 20 September 1547 at the invitation of its owner, Lord Gray.  He supported the Protestant English King against the Catholic government of the infant Mary Queen of Scots.

                                                            

The English improved the castle’s defences and were able to withstand a prolonged siege before finally surrendering to a combined Franco-Scottish force on 21 February 1550.

The Gray family were restored to ownership which they kept until selling the castle in 1666.  The only excitement in that time was when General Monck seized it in 1651 from the royalist Gray’s who sensibly left without trying to defend it

The next phase of the castle’s military history was as a result of the perceived French threat of the mid nineteenth century which resulted in huge expenditure on fortifications across the UK.  Broughty Castle ‘s position at the mouth of the River Tay was seen as strategically important so it was remodelled as an artillery fort and remained in service until 1932, being reoccupied in 1939 for the duration of the Second World War.  It is now looked after by Historic Scotland, whilst the Tower houses a small but interesting museum run by Dundee Council.

Well worth a visit if you are in the area.  The views across the Tay are stunning and the combination of late medieval tower and artillery fort unusual but certainly visually appealing. Enjoy the photographs.

                         
                                          View of the castle from the other side of the harbour

                                        An inside out shot with Dundee in the distance

Three 40 pounder Armstrong Rifled Breech Loaders, the only ones left in the UK.  Presumably these were part of the original armament of the castle in it's reincarnation as a Victorian artillery fort.  They had been used as bollards on the Broughty Ferry quay and were only recognised for what they really were in 1989.  They have been restored and placed on replica naval gun carriages of the period.

View from the castle over to the Tay Bridge

Visit to Dirleton Castle

I took a half day’s holiday today and we went for a drive to Dirleton, which is near the coast east of Edinburgh.  We started with an excellent lunch at the Castle Inn, perhaps a little pricey for a lunchtime but excellent food and situated just across the road from the castle

We then had a fairly brisk walk around the castle.  The weather wasn’t bad for January if a little nippy and overcast

During the Scottish Wars of independence the castle was held for a period by the English before being slighted by Robert the Bruce, the fate of many Scottish castles.  The English used castles to dominate the country and ready built Scottish ones were an ideal source. The Scots did not have the resources to properly defend all of them so slighting those most at risk of capture was seen as the best way to deny their use to the enemy.

The castle was subsequently rebuilt and became a fine residence as well as retaining it’s defensible characteristics.   It was not however able to resist Cromwell and it fell once again to military action in 1650.  Not long after it was abandoned and became a picturesque ruin.  It is in the care of historic Scotland and if you fancy a visit I would suggest looking up their website for directions, prices etc.

We have visited before and in the summer the gardens are spectacular. They seemed to have only suffered minimal damage from the recent storms but are of course not at their best at this time of year. I took a couple of photos but the light was not that good.

 

It would be good to have some comments as to how interesting this sort of post is.  We often visit castles, abbeys, battlefields and other historic sites on days out and when on holiday so my hope is that brief reports such as this will be a regular feature.

My photography will improve!