Kathleen was nice enough to drive and boy, did Cathy and I appreciate it! Hopefully the following will give you an idea of my first Castle visit this year:
Blair Castle, Perthsire, Scotland - home to Clan Murray and the Duke of Atholl (who, for some unknown reason, lives in South Africa... better weather maybe?). Supposedly the castle was started in 1269 and it is the garrison for the Atholl Highlanders - the only private army in the UK - Queen Victoria has something to do with getting that started.
Poor Chumley!
All he wanted to do was play but the grounds keepers were busy with the leaves! He'd put the ball down in the leaves in front of the leaf blowers and then wait for the momentum to move the ball. He'd take all the debris abuse if it meant he'd get an opportunity to chase the ball.
Kathleen and Cathy on the bridge from the parking lot to the Castle. I was a bit faster than they were - I was freezing!
Crest above the main door and the rope arch - hmmmm - interesting design motifs for a little cottage I know of on Cape Cod...
Ahhhh, the great hall!
Which can be rented out for weddings, receptions, dinners, anything you can think of if your theme included antlers!
Turns out the great hall was the only heated room in the entire castle! Two large fireplaces and some radiators made it as cosy as... well... as cosy as a large dining hall can feel. Oh, and there was some mulled ginger beer (non-alcoholic) which warmed you all the way down to the bottom of your belly.
The Atholl Highlander's flag hanging from the rafters. Royal all the way around.
Impressive and as cold as it looks!
Another view of the river that runs through the Castle's front yard.
Me, Cathy and Kathleen - just to prove we actually did make it and had a great time.
Blair Castle, Perthsire, Scotland - home to Clan Murray and the Duke of Atholl (who, for some unknown reason, lives in South Africa... better weather maybe?). Supposedly the castle was started in 1269 and it is the garrison for the Atholl Highlanders - the only private army in the UK - Queen Victoria has something to do with getting that started. 
Poor Chumley! 
Kathleen and Cathy on the bridge from the parking lot to the Castle. I was a bit faster than they were - I was freezing!
Crest above the main door and the rope arch - hmmmm - interesting design motifs for a little cottage I know of on Cape Cod...
Ahhhh, the great hall!
Turns out the great hall was the only heated room in the entire castle! Two large fireplaces and some radiators made it as cosy as... well... as cosy as a large dining hall can feel. Oh, and there was some mulled ginger beer (non-alcoholic) which warmed you all the way down to the bottom of your belly.
The Atholl Highlander's flag hanging from the rafters. Royal all the way around.
Impressive and as cold as it looks!
Another view of the river that runs through the Castle's front yard.
Me, Cathy and Kathleen - just to prove we actually did make it and had a great time.
My pleasure! Love your photos :)
ReplyDeleteBeth, the current Duke of Atholl lives in S. Africa because he is South African. The story that I remember being told when driving by the castle is that when the last Duke of Atholl passed away there was no direct descendant, so the Clan Murray, or others, did some genealogy research and located the current Duke of Atholl living in S. Africa. I guess part of accepting the mantle of Duke didn't require having to move to Scotland.
ReplyDeleteJealous that you got to see inside. I always just saw its magnificence from the outside.