Castle hopping to the other coast

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We woke to a....wait for it....wait for it....sunny day!!! Got in a nice dry pleasant run! Woohoo! Then off on our road trip to the other coast. First stop was Craiglethan Castle. This one was built beside a ravine which is unusual. It was built by the most famous builder of defensive castles although this castle did not survive the wars (ironically).

Next we went on to Bothwell Castle to represent Patrick and Catharine! It was very cool. There was the original Donjon from 1242. Then the castle was built up from there in the 1300's and the chapel was added in the 1400's. Building projects back in the day seemed to last decades. The first Lord or Baron would start but it would be his son that saw the project through to completion. Anyway, the town around the castle was also named Bothwell, very quaint. Lots of new houses built there (bedroom community to Glasgow). We had a really nice picnic on the grounds outside Bothwell Castle (we assume we had your permission Lord Patrick).

Then we hit one more castle. Dundonald. Dun means fortress, and Donald means, well, Donald. So Ben Dun would be "big fortress" and would be pronounced "bendoon" (insert your own jokes here).

The kids got to blow off some steam at this castle at the nearby park. We overheard some local folks talking and found the dialect (Glasgow?) noticeably different and a little harder to understand than Edinburgh. Some words were more clear then others though. Like when I (Nigel) accidentally stepped on this old guy's dog's foot and he said "fek off yee great dodgy shiting bastad."

To escape his mad ravings we made a dash for the car and sped off to Ayr, the birthplace of Robbie Burns. Went straight to the beach. There was a fabulous free kids park with zip lines, Rachel's favourite. The kids jumped into the sea (Rachel said it was warm; I have my doubts) with all their clothes on. Lori said they weren't wet enough and sent them back in again. What a laugh. Less funny when they had to ride home stripped down and hiding under my (fortunately) very large sweatshirts.

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Photos

Craiglethan Castle
Notice the guy mowing the lawn? Every castle had people mowing since it was the first dry day in a while...

Gorgeous sunny day
To sit on a castle wall!

Bothwell Castle
Notice the red rocks.

Fake sword
Couldn't get the fake sword to penetrate the fake armour.

Yup, swimming!
Fully clothed, they had a blast!

Comments

[Momma Robertson]

are you going to Hadrian"s wall? - history but what is NOT history there?

[Patrick Bothwell]

My Castle...
Thank you for taking the time to visit my Castle. I trust you'll have the realtors in tomorrow to get it appraised. Price it to sell quickly and bring back the cash back when you return. Your commission will be a generous 10%! Arrangements can be made through the usual channels to ship back any antiquities and of course the contents of the cellar. You\'ve been of great service on this trip and wil be soon considered for knighthood. With fondest regards for Scotch and Haggis, Bothwell