Bleeding sheep, golf and a castle

Dunrobin Castle is one of Scotland's oldest continuously inhabited monuments. The fairy-tale castle, surrounded by beautiful gardens, is the seat of the Dukes and Counts of Sutherland.

Dunrobin Castle is a huge 14th-century mansion located in Scotland. It is designed like French chateaux on the Loire, which makes it significantly different from other Scottish monuments. The beautiful building brought many misfortunes - because of it, many families living in the surrounding villages were forcibly displaced.

The castle is located on the shores of the North Sea, approx. 1.5 km north of Golspie, a town with a long sandy beach, many walking paths and a great attraction for golfers - the Golspie Golf Course . The club was ranked 54 on the Golf World's Top 100 courses in Scotland for 2015 list.

Dunrobin Castle Gardens

Dunrobin and its adjoining gardens are open from April to October (adult admission - £ 10.50). The complex looks like a fairy tale, no wonder that it can often be seen on puzzles. The castle gardens are somewhat reminiscent of Versailles lawns. You can see at every step how much attention was paid to landscape architecture. Carefully cared for greenery and the sound of fountains take us to the times when aristocrats in beautiful dresses used to stroll here. When we look at the gardens from the castle windows (especially on a sunny day), we will see how the lush green blends beautifully with the color of the water, meeting on the horizon line with a lighter shade - the blue of the sky. The whole creates a calming and relaxing landscape that you can look at for hours.

Dunrobin Castle is not only one of the oldest landmarks in the Highlands, it is also one of the largest. There are 189 rooms in it, and the towers are 35 to 41 meters high (this is the height of the tower with the entrance to the guardhouse). The building was constructed on a quadrilateral plan and was connected with older buildings, creating a complex of impressive size. Visitors can wander the interiors of the castle, getting acquainted with the numerous souvenirs of the old days - sculptures, paintings and beautiful furniture.

Sheep fields

The surroundings of the castle are vast green areas. Throughout the region, you can find the remains of the houses of residents who were forcibly displaced at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a dark period in the history of Scotland, the so-called Highland Clearances . It was not only the construction of the castle that contributed to the expulsion of the population - it was the time of changes, and the land was to be used for sheep grazing. One of the places from which the inhabitants were displaced to take sheep breeders in their place was Brora, located a few kilometers from the castle.

Nowadays, Brora is popular among fishing enthusiasts, because it is located at the mouth of the river of the same name, known for salmon fishing. In the past, it was the main industrial center of Sutherland. It was the first in the Highlands to have its own electric power supply, and it also became famous for one of the oldest mines in Scotland. The stone mined in the local quarry was used to build, among others Dunrobin Castle, Liverpool Cathedral and London Bridge.

Where to stay

After driving approx. 8 km north of the castle (following the A9 route) we come across the Brora Caravan Club Site . You can spend the night there and rest after exploring Dunrobin and the surrounding area. For a parking space for a motorhome, we will pay £ 5.30 / night, while an adult's accommodation costs £ 6.90. Children 5-17 years old will be charged £ 1.30 / night.

The campground is calm and quiet, fully adapted to the needs of wheelchair users. It is 150 meters from the coast and about 100 meters from the Brora Golf Club . A public transport stop is approx. 1 km away.

The village offers accommodation for golf lovers, fishermen and tourists who want to discover the attractions of the sheep region, including the beautiful castle. Access is easy thanks to the proximity of the national road and the railroad.