Scottish Panoramas Castle Campbell: A fine romance in stone and setting

TEDDY JAMIESON

CASTLES. Scotland is hoaching with them. Big ones, small ones, falling-down ones, castles on islands, castles in the middle of housing estates (hello Menstrie Castle) and castles that are movie stars (Eilean Donan, such a show-off).

Castle Campbell, sitting high in Dollar Glen, is neither the showiest nor the most storied, but it offers enough of both to make the journey there worthwhile.

Indeed, the journey to it is at least half the fun. The steep walk up to the castle from Dollar (sensible footwear definitely required) will either take you up through woods if you keep left, or, if you go right, will squeeze you between rocks and waterfalls, an imposing prospect that can leave you feeling like you’ve just stepped into an episode of Game of Thrones. There are no dragons on hand, but you might spot green woodpeckers, dippers or nuthatches if you are lucky.

The castle itself sits on a rocky outcrop carved by the Burns of Care and Sorrow (George RR Martin would be proud of such nomenclature). It dates from the early-1400s, when it was known as Castle Glume. Ownership passed to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, through marriage, and he chose to change the name to Castle Campbell via an Act of Parliament in 1489.

John Knox and Mary, Queen of Scots, were both said to have visited the castle in the 16th century. Knox reputedly gave a sermon while he was there. A century later, it was occupied by Oliver Cromwell’s forces during the Civil War. But, after the execution of the eighth Earl of Argyll in 1661 for his support of the parliamentarians, the castle began to fall into disrepair.

By the Victorian era, it was a picturesque ruin attracting the attention of passing artists including Horatio McCulloch who painted the castle twice, in 1838 and again in 1853.

It wasn’t until 1948 that the castle passed into the control of the National Trust for Scotland and it is now administered by Historic Environment Scotland. What remains is an imposing tower house some 20 metres high (65ft), a courtyard and gardens amidst a setting that has the Ochils as a backdrop and the Forth Valley spread out below.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the castle is currently closed to visitors, but it remains a marker in the landscape, a marker of Scottish history and our ability to find romance in stone and setting.

Who needs dragons anyway?

WHERE IS IT?

The Outer Hebrides. From Barra to Lewis.

WHY DO YOU GO THERE?

To me, it’s like another Scotland, perched on the edge of the roaring North Atlantic. Next stop: the eastern seaboard of America. Its remoteness suggests the expectation of adventure. To live there requires a different character, I believe. The long, hard winters and the weather that can change in the twinkling of an eye.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GO?

I don’t go often enough. I was lucky to go to Lewis with Sam Heughan this year, surfing of all things – my first time. Exhilarating, even though there is no danger of me becoming a threat to Laird Hamilton anytime soon. Before that, I hadn’t been since I cycled the length of the islands more than 20 years ago. Back then, I started in Barra after a long ferry sailing from Oban with dolphins leaping across the bow of the ship.

WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST?

I remember the golden sands of the beach where you can land in a plane from Glasgow. The hills were fearsome. Then leapfrogging across the chain of islands. I love the names: Benbecula, Uist, Barra. They sound like a series of challenges thrown at you. North Uist and South Uist, flat and peppered with lochs, rivers and a single road. Harris, with its white sand beaches. I was lucky enough to be there on a cloudless day with no wind. An amazing memory. Then on to Lewis (on a Sunday – not to be recommended). I saw not a soul that day. But it was more than worth it for the side trip to the Callanish Stones, above. I first visited them long before Outlander. It is humbling to visit a man-made structure that has stood through the fall of the Roman Empire, the Pharaohs, Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. Frankly, it is worth visiting Lewis simply to see these stones. I was lucky enough to visit them again on a beautiful day in August with Sam, but I’m sad to say our attempts at time-travelling were unsuccessful.

SUSAN SWARBRICK HOW DID YOU DISCOVER IT?

Through the wonders of the Ordnance Survey maps and the fulfilment of a long-held desire to visit this remote outpost of the Gaels.

SUM IT UP IN FIVE WORDS.

Remote. Mysterious. Contrasting. Surprising. Epic.

WHAT TRAVEL SPOT IS ON YOUR POST-LOCKDOWN WISH LIST?

I would love to revisit Japan and India, two places I’ve been that seem closest to travelling to another planet. Also, Patagonia. I love standing on the edge of things, looking out towards the Antarctic.