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Borthwick Castle Borthwick Castle has played its part in the history of Scotland. It would be classed technically as a twin towered Baronial keep. It is unusually tall for the perio, originally standing 110 feet high and the walls are up to 14 feet thick. It was built in 1430 by Lord Borthwick, whose tomb can still be seen at the local parish Kirk of St Kentigern, which he probably built. Mary Queen of Scots fled here, from Edinburgh Castle in 1567 for protection in this impregnable fortress. Artist: Peter Hunter £295 Castle Stuart Built in 1625 by the Earl of Moray, it was home to the Stuarts. It is a 17th century Jacobean tower house. Castle Stuart is located about 5 miles east of Inverness, not far from Culloden. The land was originally given to James Stuart, Mary Queen of Scot's half-brother, by Mary herself, together with the title Earl of Moray. After the execution of Charles the 1st ( Mary's grandson ), the Stuarts fell into disfavour and the castle fell into neglect. The present owner, Charles Stuart, bought the abandoned hulk that had suffered 400 years of neglect and spent 15 years renovating the 17th century castle. It has now been restored to its former glory and is open as a hotel. Artist: Peter Hunter £295 Culzean Castle Culzean Castle is situated on the south west coast of Scotland, 12 miles south of Ayr and is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland, acting as guardian of the nation's heritage. To this day it stands as a memorial to the talent of Adam and the skills of the stone masons. The castle sits on a cliff top with a superb commanding view over the sea to the Island of Arran. It is surrounded by 600 acres of beautiful gardens, deer park and woodland walks. Artist: Peter Hunter £295 Dalhousie Castle Dalhousie Castle was built over 800 years ago by the Ramsays of Dalhousie. It is situated eight miles south of Edinburgh on the banks of the River Esk. The main parts of the present structure were added in about 1450. The 11 inch thick walls were quarried from red stone on the opposite bank of the South Esk River. Originally access to the castle was obtained by crossing a drawbridge over a deep dry moat. Fordun records Sir William Ramsay of the Dalhousie as having defeated the English at Nisbet Moor in 1355. In 1400 a later Sir Alexander Ramsay withstood a 6 month siege at Dalhousie laid by King Henry IV of England. Dalhousie proved to be the last castle in Scotland to be besieged by an English king in person. Artist: Peter Hunter £295 Forter Castle Surrounded by stunning scenery in Glenisla, Forter Castle was built in 1560 and as a fortified house or ‘Fortalice’. The principal reason for construction was to fortify and protect the entrance to the Balloch Pass to Glenshee and the important Moneca Pass to Braemar and the north. At the time of construction, marauding bands of catarans threatened the settled folk in this area and the clan feuds, stoked by religious differences, as the Protestantism came in to supplant the old Catholic religion, made it necessary to build a new fortalice for the house of Ogilvy. Forter was also equipped with the best defences known at the time and, when put to the test, faired extremely well; it was only as a result of a force of some five thousand men with heavy artillery to back them up, that in the year 1640 Forter eventually fell. Forter was restored to its present glory in 1990. Artist: Peter Hunter £275 Glengorm Castle Glengorm Castle is situated on the north tip of the Isle of Mull. Five miles from Tobermory, it has stunning views out over the North Atlantic. It was built in 1860. Landowner, James Forsyth, was so struck by the views he decided to build a dwelling for himself to live there. During the building of this fairytale Victorian castle, the story goes that he asked a local crone for suitable names. As he was evicting all the tenants on the estate and burning down their cottages there was a permanent pall of blue smoke from the burning thatch, thus she came up with the name 'Glengorm' meaning the blue glen. Artist: Peter Hunter £295 Muckrach Castle Muckrach Castle is a typical Highland tower house. It was originally built around 1585 by Patrick Grant, who was later knighted by James the sixth and lived until 1626. It is located about 3 miles west of Grantown on Spey on the edge of the Cairngorm's National Park. An area of special outstanding beauty, it is the largest National Park in Britain. Lying derelict for centuries, the castle was refurbished in 1978 and Is now open to the public as a self-catering property. Artist: Peter Hunter £290 Traquair House Traquair House is known as the oldest continuously inhabited house in Scotland. It is situated 30 miles south of Edinburgh. The house seemed to confront danger at every turn; it was used by Scottish kings for recreation and it was a refuge for Catholic priests. On his return from raiding England, Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed there on his way north. The fifth Earl of Traquair at that time closed the Bear Gates after him and said they would not open again until there was another Stuart on the throne. 260 odd years later they still remain closed. Artist: Peter Hunter £295 |
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