Dirleton Castle

May 12, 2015 16 Comments

Dirleton Castle in East Lothian has existed since the 13th century. Built by the de Vauxes, it changed hands twice over the next 400 years – first to the Haliburtons, then to the Ruthvens. Both families added their own extensions before the downfall of the Ruthvens saw the castle abandoned as a noble residence. When the Nisbets purchased the estate in the 1660s they built a new mansion-house and the ruins became a feature in the designed landscape. Today, Dirleton is in the hands of Historic Scotland. As you can see by my attire, despite the date being May the weather was wintry cold when we visited!

In case anyone is wondering, the bottom two pictures are taken inside the doocot (dovecote).

Dirleton Castle

Anabel at Dirleton

View of North Berwick Law

Dirleton Castle

Detail

Dirleton Castle

Doocot

Scotland, UK Castles, Dirleton Castle, East Lothian

16 Comments »

jazzfeathers
May 14, 2015 at 16:25

Lovely castel. And oh my goodness, that doocot looks like an awesome place!!!! 🙂

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 14, 2015 at 20:47
  
  I wish we had an outside picture! It looks like a giant beehive.
  
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Celine Jeanjean
May 14, 2015 at 03:03

the bottom two photos are awesome, I would have had no idea what it was.

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 14, 2015 at 07:49
  
  Yes, they look quite abstract.
  
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Nadine
May 13, 2015 at 16:19

I love visiting old castles! We managed to see a few while visiting Scotland, though not this one. Another reason to go back!

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 13, 2015 at 16:21
  
  So many castles – I’m still finding ones I haven’t visited.
  
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clicksclan
May 13, 2015 at 07:33

I love visiting old castles and that one looks fantastic.

Our castle has a dovecot like that but it’s not in great condition. I love the photo looking up at it. 🙂

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 13, 2015 at 08:01
  
  All the best photos are John’s, including that one. It is one of the best-preserved doocots I’ve seen, I thought we had one of the outside but we don’t.
  
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Birgit
May 13, 2015 at 03:30

This is such a neat castle and I love your pictures. The bottom left one reminds me of the short-lived TV show called “The Time Tunnel”. It looks like it would be quite cold and a hat would be needed

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 13, 2015 at 07:19
  
  Well, it was only doves who lived there so I expect their feathers kept them warm!
  
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Lori L MacLaughlin
May 13, 2015 at 03:22

Exploring old ruins was one of my favorite things to do when we were over there. There’s something romantic about them that draws me to them.

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 13, 2015 at 07:18
  
  I can tell you like castles from your headers! I love exploring all the little nooks and crannies.
  
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jazzytower
May 12, 2015 at 21:11

I do love the last two.

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 12, 2015 at 21:13
  
  The geometry is very pleasing!
  
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restlessjo
May 12, 2015 at 20:46

So many quirky interesting looking places, Anabel. Shame about the weather 🙂

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- Anabel Marsh
  May 12, 2015 at 21:09
  
  The weather improved! Two sunny posts coming up.
  
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