Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 14 on 2/5/2004.

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The scars of age and battle

John Hannavy taps in to the special atmosphere created by many ruined castles

Looking at the ruins of so many of our country’s great castles, the visitor today can often still pick up some of the resonance which lingers from the great sieges of Scotland’s turbulent past. That is very much the case with most of the castles in this issue’s selection. The battle scars worn with pride, and the damage caused by centuries of neglect, often present the photographer with interesting frames and spaces through which to view the ruins.

We start at the impressive red ruins of Bothwell Castle, perched high on a rocky crag above the River Clyde.

This castle, which dates in large measure from the late 13th century, was once considered the grandest residence in Scotland. Had the original plans ever been completed, it would have been even grander – for foundations for a huge twin-towered gatehouse like that at Caerlaverock Castle was laid but the gatehouse was never built.

The scene of several dramatic sieges – apparently using huge wooden siege engines – Bothwell still bears scars acquired throughout Scotland’s turbulent medieval times.

But the castle was not to be easily destroyed. Indeed, when living in such cold grandeur fell out of fashion, and the Douglases built nearby Bothwell House in the 18th century, they might have assumed their former castle would just have crumbled away.

But, ironically, it was Bothwell House which crumbled, succumbing to the effects of centuries of coal mining in the area. The house was demolished as unsafe in the 1920s while the ca.....

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By John Hannavy

Section : Scottish Castles

Page number : 16