The last day of our trip was spent in Glasgow, as part of our plan to pack in as many experiences as we could. Our Highlands tour did exhaust us to some extent however, so when we arrived at our airbnb in Glasgow, we didn’t have an idea where to visit. Still deeply impressed by the atmospheric beauty of the Highlands and especially by the many visits to historic castles and ruins, we decided, naturally, to look up a castle for our first destination. Surprisingly and fortunately enough, there was one not far from where we were, and indeed the only castle within the city of Glasgow – Crookston castle.
The atmosphere of Crookston castle, in contrast to the dramatic and somewhat fierce nature of the castles we visited on the tour, was quite relaxing and friendly. It was, quite literally, a neighbourhood castle. The quiet morning we went there, a local was walking her dog on the slope around the castlehill while the nearby residential area still seemed to be slumbering – worlds apart from the usual touristy feel we’ve encountered in Edinburgh. ‘twas a welcome change.
Peeking through the open gate, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the site was practically empty except for us. We were unsure whether we were permitted to enter, but as the gate was open, we laid baby steps inside, and gradually took in the scene. The neighbourhood was relatively peaceful to begin with, but the castle was even more secluded, hidden away like an oasis. We were greeted by a tall tree that seemed to have been there a long time, next to what we supposed is the remains of a ditch that used to surround and protect the castle. Once again it reminded us of secret gardens in fairy tales we read and loved in our adolescence.
We walked around the castle, looking for an entrance, and finally stumbled upon a closed gate that at first glance appeared to be locked. Fortunately, it was only secured by a latch. After looking around and finding no signs that prohibit us from entering, we unlatched the gate and walked in.
Prior to this trip, our definition of a castle was much different, perhaps closer to the more grandeur constructions like Eilean Donan castle. In comparison, Crookston was more compact and modest, but beautiful and historically important in its own way. Indeed, the castle may have been where Mary, Queen of Scots, a major figure in Scottish history, was betrothed to her second husband. Having visited many destroyed castles during our tour, in all honesty, we were expecting a complete ruination with nothing but bombarded walls and perhaps a lucky window that survived. To our surprise, Crookston castle was relatively well-preserved, and we could still make out its architecture. The layout is quite unique, with a rectangular block in the middle, and a defensive tower in each corner, making an X shape. We could see from the outside that unfortunately, not much remains of the Western towers. However, signs of the Eastern towers still remain to this day, and in particular the North-east tower seemed to have survived Crookston castle’s bloody history almost completely intact.
The Western side of the castle.
Along the side of the walls are windows of all different sizes and shapes, with steps leading to each of them. Coming in through the iron front gate, there is a stairway immediately to the right up to the hall, and a couple of steps further led us into the vaulted basement area, whose structure stood firm through time. Since half of the castle was destroyed, including most of the hall area directly above, there was a lot of natural light coming in. We spent a bit of time looking through the basement then proceeded to venture to the upper floors of the castle. The narrow and steep stair led us straight into the open hall area on the first floor, where the roof that once sheltered it had been destroyed. From here you can see the remaining of the corner towers, and a passage leading up to the surviving North-east tower. We followed the stairs to a single room that was quite dark as not much sunlight was passing through its sole window. There was a steel staircase in the middle that would take us through a trapdoor to the rooftop. We took baby steps up the very steep staircase and finally made it to the top.
The vaulted basement area. The window at the far end has steps leading up to it.
The stairway leading to the open hall area.
The tower stood at quite an impressive height, which offered us a panoramic view of the city in the soft morning light. From there we could also see a windmill field far away. The top-down view of the castle was also quite impressive: the ditch was remarkably conserved, and the tower was built high enough that looking down at the basement made us a bit dizzy. We spent our time taking in the view and the fresh morning air then slowly made our descent back to the basement to explore it in more details.
Lovely view over Glasgow.
The lower floors seen from atop the tower.
It was then that we were greeted by the castle’s caretaker who hurriedly asked us to leave, as it was supposed to be closed for maintenance. (If you do end up visiting the castle, perhaps it would be useful to check beforehand that it’s indeed open.) By then we hadn’t really explored the basement, so we were kind of pleading with her to let us stay just a while longer, and promised to latch the gate behind us as we leave. After a while, the lady softened up to our request, and we thanked her kindly. Her warmness and hospitality left us with an even sweeter aftertaste.
Looking back at the castle as we continued our journey.
Romantic Roamers 