The Grand Master’s palace
- Post author By Marc De Ridder
- Post date May 8, 2022
- Categories In Castles, History, Rhodes
- Tags castles, grand master, grand master's palace, greece, palace, rhodes, rhodes old town
Category: Castles
A wander around Buchanan Castle on a cold, crisp Sunday afternoon.
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.
On the first weekend for months without any rain or sleet, we just had to pretend to be real Glaswegians and head ‘doon the water’. We drove down to Ayr and wandered along the shore from Doonfoot to Greenan Castle and the Heads of Ayr on a magnificent day.
These are my favourite shots of the day (without one or both of my two girls in it), with Greenan Castle reflecting in the waters left behind by the tide. I just cannot make up my mind which one works better, the square or the portrait format. What do you think?
What else to do than go ‘Doon the Water’ on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
We drove down to Doonfoot and wandered along the beach to Greenan Castle and the Heads of Ayr. I found the perfect spot for a shot of the castle with the reflections in the still water left behind with low tide. Nearly the perfect landscape shot, but Lola had other ideas and decided to pose for the camera.
Eventually, I got the shot I wanted, without Lola and any walkers, as you can see in my next post. This post is all about Lola who enjoyed the afternoon’s wander immensely, and nothing was more fun than run back and forwards between Lynn and I, splashing through the water.
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.
A few images from a day trip to Castle Gloom quite a few years ago. The castle, better known as Castle Campbell, dates from the 1400’s and sits in a lofty, isolate position at the head of Dollar Glen, overlooking the town of Dollar, the low lands of Clackmannanshire and the Ochill Hills.
With the Burn of Care on one side and the Burn of Sorrow on the other, Castle Gloom, sounds like something out of a horror movie. Yet this is a beautiful place and the castle is an awe-inspiring sight as it first comes into view along the approach road through the Glen.
During our wander through the castle we stumbled across this little pond, more a big puddle, teaming with frogs and spawn in the shadow of the castle walls.
I am unsure of the exact year these images were captured, but most likely in early spring in 2003. I came across these wonderful images during my long term project to scan my back catalog of negatives.
A place on the list of ‘we must go there again soon’. Maybe this Spring?
The castle grounds are worthwhile exploring, especially the area between the castle and the loch. There you can find fascinating old trees.
Insert 360 degree virtual reality of the castle.
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.