I'll start this post by massively apologising for the lack of decent quality photographs. When we visited Old Dalquharran Castle in June 2022 Instagram was making a huge push on reels and I, like the trend obsessed instagrammer I am, jumped on the band wagon and lost sight of the fact I actually need photographs to enable me to write the blog posts... What an idiot! So I have tried, and failed, to screenshot from the video, hence the rubbish quality. So apologies for this, you'll have to bear with me and hope we get better at writing these things... We've got another 500 odd castles to really smash it....
Old Dalquharran Castle is situated in Dailly, Girvan, which was where we stayed in a lovely little lodge and had our first holiday together as a family of three! Alex was six months old and we dragged him along to yet another Castle... Kid might actually have visited more castles than any other 18 month old at this point! We'd researched the local castles and were told this one was 'off limits' used primarily as a drinking ground for local teenagers, I mean who can blame them it really is one of the only local places to go, and it had been closed off by the local Council. A 20 minute walk and some urban exploring later and well... We stumbled upon this beautiful ruin set in the gorgeous Dailly countryside. I am always impressed by a good ruined castle, there is just something so majestic about it. Truthfully, I'd take a decent ruin over a repaired castle any day of the week.
As you approach Old Dalquharran Castle they do ramp up the warnings... Falling debris may kill you and if this castle topples you're a goner basically. But, you can't resist the pull of walking around the ruin. Before anyone comes at me for 'parent of the year', Steve had Alex in a carrier and stayed well back whilst I explored. I was fairly content the Castle wasn't going to fall on my head and the weather wasn't exactly poor at the time either... So I felt relatively safe and there is enough room between you and the castle that you can run for your life in time to be safe I think.
But enough of the rambling, on to the History! Old Dalquharran Castle was abandoned in around 1790, to move to the newer mansion Dalquharran Castle - you can actually purchase both castles and some 260 acres for £800,000 (I have asked Steve and this idea has been shot down... One day!). The newer castle was much larger and grander, so I can see why they decided to move, but it is sad to think it was abandoned like so many others.
Orignally, Old Dalquharran Castle consisted of one round 15th century tower (its oldest part), and was then extended into a three-storey L-Plan castle. There was also apparently a vaulted basement and an entrance at the ground level. It is quite hard to imagine how this castle would have looked in all its glory, but I bet it was stunning. I have not been able to find out much more of the history, other than it appears to have been built by the Earl of Casillis and likely was used for defence purposes, but more localised defence as opposed to preventing the English invading.
Old Dalquharran Caste is free to visit and has a very pleasant riverside walk to reach it. I would say it is not suitable to bring prams, as you would really struggle, and also may not be too wheelchair friendly either. There is nearby parking on the local roads and the New Dalquharran Castle is also a short walk away, so you can visit two castles, for free, in one day! There is also a nice local pub (Hooray!) where you could stop off after your visit. Definitely well worth a visit.
There we have Castle number 6 and I think Castle number 3 of the Scottish Castles we visited. Don't forget to keep up to date with the Challenge on Instagram & Facebook where we share all of our blog posts to ensure you don't miss out.
Until Next Time
The Castle Casanovas
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Other Castle posts you may like:
- Castle Number 3 - Caernarfon Castle
- Castle Number 4 - Culzean Castle
- Castle Number 5 - Dunure Castle
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