INVERARAY CASTLE

                        A Delightful Visit

The Trossachs is a collective name for Scotland’s wild Highland area east and northeast of Loch Lomond. The area has been famed in history and romance since Sir Walter Scot’s vivid descriptive passages in The Lady of the Lake, and Rob Roy. Some of Scotland’s best farmland is in this beautiful valley.

            Anyone who has spent any time in Europe knows that ABC means Another Blasted Castle/Church. I can’t tell you how many castles and churches I’ve visited over the years, but I’m always looking for something new and different that I’ve not seen before. I have my top three castles and then there are just the famous ones one must see.

Inveraray Castle

            Inveraray Castle comes under the latter category. Its style seems so typical of what we think a castle should look like. My friend and I passed up any shopping and walked up to tour the castle. The castle afforded us a nice view of the firth. This 1746 Campbell Clan castle, built on level ground, was surrounded by a dry ditch called a fosse. The gothic building was very light and airy. Beautiful tapestries hung on the walls. The dining room walls were exquisite. The Wedgwood ceiling was very different. The china display was lovely and 1300 pieces of armory was displayed beautifully and uniquely in a very high ceiling room. It was fascinating to view the display.  The castle is the home of the Duke of Argyll.

Armory Room and Display

            In the mid 1700s the Duke of Argyll wanted a castle to reflect his importance.  He moved the 300-year-old town so he could build his castle on beautifully landscaped grounds.  The first planned burgh was created and for centuries Inveraray has had an imposing landscape. The new Georgian town was finished in 1776.

The beautifully painted white buildings with black trim have many interesting closes to explore. Black and white were used because in the early 1700s there were only five colors. Besides black and white there was turquoise, canary yellow, and tangerine. Black and white seemed like a good choice for building!  Flowering hanging baskets hung everywhere in town. The Argyll Hotel dates to 1750 when it was a coaching inn for judges and lawyers on the circuit courts. It is a delightful little village. It would have been fun to explore the village shops and walk the closes, but the castle was definitely worth the visit.

            In the 50s there was a big scandal involving infidelity of the then Duchess.  Pictures were shown in court and she lost her case. The current Duke married the heir to the Cadbury-Schweppes fortune in 2003.

            After touring the castle we elected to eat in the castle café. I was reminded of my first lunch in a castle---a birthday one in England a few years earlier. Now I can’t count how many times I’ve eaten in a castle! Amazing.