A couple of weeks ago we decided to knock a few more Scottish castles off our list of places we hadn’t visited yet. So we headed for North Berwick in East Lothian, it’s maybe 20 miles from where we live as the crow flies but it’s over 60 by road since the Firth of Forth is in the way. It was our 47th wedding anniversary (I know!!) and we felt the need to get out of the house and do something different. Dirleton Castle was our first port of call. It’s a 13th century castle and at some point the English Edward I captured it – for a while.
As you can see it has taken a bit of battering over the years. It’s now owned by Historic Environment Scotland.
Like many castles it has been built onto an area of rock, a strong foundation.
Dirleton is one of the many historic buildings which had been closed to the public for a few years while they were inspected for safety, there are some areas that you aren’t allowed to go into. The photo below is of the kitchen/storage areas and it was a wee bit unnerving as I could hear and see small bits of masonry falling from the ceiling near a fireplace! I’m sure it’ll be safe though.
The decorative alcove below was where the silver plate would have been displayed when there was entertaining going on. Really it’s not all that different from the stone ‘dresser’ at Skara Brae.
Below is the dovecote, or doocot as they are named in Scotland. This is where the pigeons roosted, they were an important source of meat for the castle during winter months.
Below is the interior of the doocot. I’ve been told that pigeons, (or doves if you want to be genteel) breed all year round which is why there are so many of them. All of the wee niches would have contained pigeons sitting on eggs. Castles had a lot of people living in them although I doubt if the workers ever got to taste much in the way of meat.
But the poor souls who were in the dungeon which is below would have been on a bread and water diet if they were lucky.
Within the dungeon there’s a hole in the floor which prisoners were thrown down, if you were down there I doubt if you would survive for long!
Dirleton Castle is surrounded by greenery, as it probably always has been.
Below is the Victorian garden, very formally planted, very pretty.
When I was a kid I thought people had doocots just because they liked doves and their nice cooing. It came as a horrible surprise when I learned they were actually kept for eating! ????
FictionFan,
I’ve never been that keen on pigeons anyway, but I think I was probably a young adult when I saw my first doocot, mind you I would never want to eat one!