New Dalquharran Castle | Castle 7 of the Castle Casanovas Challenge

Following on from last week's post about Old Dalquharran Castle on the same day last year we also visited New Dalquharran Castle. This was Castle number 7 in the Castle Casanovas Challenge and castle number 4 of the Scottish Castles. At this point it has taken us around a year to visit 7 castles... I remain optimistic we will complete this challenge in our lifetime, but consider this may become more of a retirement hobby as visiting these places takes A LOT of time. 

Walking up the pathway to New Dalquharran Castle you are instantly hit with how modern it looks. I would happily transform this into a family home in a heartbeat, if I was a) a millionaire and b) could do so. Sadly, New Dalquharran is fenced off and if you want to see inside, you'll need to do some urban exploring. I personally wouldn't recommend this as it is obviously fenced off and gated for a reason. That being said, my curiosity got the better of me and I did have a very quick nosey through the front doors - I didn't actually go inside the building, although there was evidence others had been inside. Back in her former glory, I bet she would have been stunning with windows and an extremely fancy home to live in. 

Dalquharran (the new) Castle, is classed as a listed building and was designed by Robert Adam who completed the castle in 1790. Old Dalquharran Castle was then abandoned and the Kennedy family lived in the new castle. Dalquharran Castle had a similar layout to Culzean Castle, which was also designed by Robert Adam and owned by the Kennedy family. 

The castle was mainly a family home and was extended in 1880-1881, to accommodate Thomas Romilley Kennedy's wife and nine children. The cost of the extension almost bankrupted the family and the premises were regularly let to form an income. 

If you peer through the doors, or where the doors once stood, you will be impressed by the expanse of space and the rooms themselves. It is easy to envisage just how grand this castle would have looked in its prime and what a beautiful place it must have been to live in. I am quite sad to think that it may be knocked down at some point to make room for the proposed houses or just left to rot and decay until it no longer exists. 

The castle was sold in the 1930s by the Kennedy family to a timber merchant who leased the property to The Scottish Youth Association. During World War 2 the castle was occupied by the evacuated 'Glasgow Death and Dumb Institution', and during this time the castle was then sold to a produce merchant who lived in the castle with his family. The castle was eventually abandoned as it was simply too expensive to run. In 1967, the lead roof was removed to enable the owners to declare it as uninhabitable and it has continued to decay ever since. 

In 1971, the castle was registered as a category A listed building which makes it a property "of national or international importance, either architectural or historical" and I am really hoping this will be what saves it from being knocked down. The two castles and 260 acres were recently put up for sale for £800,000. There have been approved plans for a hotel, several holiday homes and even houses all approved, but never acted upon. It will be interesting to see whether the castle can be saved by development and either returned to its former glory as a home or reimagined into a hotel or holiday homes, but ensuring the historic nature of the building is kept. 

 New Dalquharran Castle is free to visit, but there is not much to see save for the exterior, and the countryside views which are quite stunning. This was certainly worth the half an hour or so walk and you get two castles for one! You all know that my favourite was Old Dalquharran Castle, because I have a soft spot for ruins, but New Dalquharran is certainly worth a visit to. 

There we have Castle Number 7 of the challenge & Castle Number 4 of the Scottish Castles Challenge! Stick around for plenty more castle content as I am on a roll writing these reviews at the moment. I have concluded June 2022's castles so now on to the September 2022 castles!

Until Next Time

The Castle Casanovas

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Other Castle Posts you may like:

• Castle Number 4 - Culzean Castle
• Castle Number 5 - Dunure Castle 
• Castle Number 6 - Old Dalquharran Castle