Visiting the Amazing Dunrobin Castle in the Highlands

I can't believe it has taken me so long to post about my favorite site in Scotland--Dunrobin Castle. The castle is in Golspie, is the northernmost of Scotland's great houses, and has 189 rooms. It's also one of Britain's oldest continuously inhabited houses, with the same family (Clan Sutherland) living there since the 1300s. That's hard to imagine in itself, but it becomes even more astounding once you see the castle and its grounds. The size, luxury, and natural surroundings are so fairy-tale perfect that it's hard to grasp as someone's home. 

The picture immediately below is what you see walking up to the castle--and it's impressive, right? Well just wait till we walk through to the other side.

 
 
The entryway fireplace...personal rules are that the photo where my child looks best get posted. Look at that expression!
 
 
The Sutherlands appear to be devoted hunters and very proud of their kills, displaying the taxidermied beasts all over the castle (particularly in the grand stairway at the heart of the castle). 

 
 
The rooms available to see on the tour were just so breathtaking--I was especially impressed by the detailed ceiling in this one. 
 
 
 
 
 
And this room looks like the absolute coziest place to curl up with a novel and a cup of tea on a gloomy day (which happen to abound in Scotland).  




 
 
 
 
This is the children's playroom, and the docent there made my day--she looked at Elowen (who was walking calmly and not touching anything) and said "Oh, she is a very good little girl."  


I don't know who this is, I just love large oil paintings of women from times long past. 



The stairway I mentioned, with its many deer heads. 

 
Honestly, I could have stayed in the house for much longer, just reading the informational signs and soaking in the details--but no one was as interested as me, especially our tiny travelers. So we headed to the gardens where the kids could run and there was less of a chance of damaging valuable, ancient property. 

Just look at that view--can you imagine stepping out to that daily? It's gorgeous even on a cloudy day. 


 
 
 
 
The flowers and foliage in Scotland are just beyond. The gardens were designed in 1850 and inspired by those of Versailles; they've changed very little since that time, though they host a wide range of plants you wouldn't expect given the climate. There's a Gulf Stream of warmer air that brings sub-tropical conditions to the area, allowing them to grow plants from even South America.
 

And here we have the back of the castle, which is such a different style (to my untrained eye, at least) than the front. This castle is what I wanted Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany to be--and yet this one is so much less famous and visited. The world is a strange place.

The wee folk definitely scamper down this path at night. 


Elowen and I were very impressed by these huge red flowers--maybe they're poppies?
 
 
Just the cutest lass in her wooly jumper.  



 
This is one of the most perfect pictures I've ever taken. 

 
 
At the edge of the garden grounds, they had a roped off area with falcons and owls--and their keeper was giving us fierce side eye; perhaps she's had small children jump the rope before and charge the birds? But Elowen had no interest in getting any closer; a rabbit is a hard no for her, much less a bird with a sharp beak and razor talons.




I was happier here than anyone else was, if you can't tell by the pictures. It was one of the highlights of my trip. 



 
This stone wall covered in roses is just so romantic--these are climbing hybrid tea roses, rarely seen today.






Once everyone but mine's patience for the most beautiful castle in the world was spent, we drove to a nearby distillery to do a tasting. I look excited, but that's because I hadn't taken a drink yet. You can tell me the whiskey has notes of caramel or vanilla or sparkly unicorn all you want, but all that goes down my throat is fiery pain.


 
After the tasting, one of the girls was dying for lunch and fading fast, so we randomly chose this cool little restaurant in nearby Tain--Platform 1864. It's in the town's old railway station, and you can see the tracks in the back. 


I will never not order halloumi fries with chili aioli. 

Elowen feels the same way about mac 'n cheese. 

 
 
That night, we had drinks at a phenomenal cocktail bar called Jimmy Badgers (this was after I had to duck out of a meal where the service was SO slow that it took us an hour to get drinks, and Elowen absolutely lost it). The pistachio milk cocktail was divine, as was the berry bramble. I wrote about this bar in another post too, so you may recognize Elowen's queenly poses.   
 





















































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