Craigmillar Castle

Craigmillar Castle is a veritable rabbit warren.
Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

 On Tuesday, Joe returned to Germany, and my sister and I continued onto Edinburgh, Scotland. We took the train from King’s Cross Station and arrived in about 4 hours. Shortly after arriving, we took a bus to the outskirts of the city so we could explore Craigmillar Castle, a ruined castle abandoned since the 1700s. I wouldn’t say uninhabited though—some very brave pigeons have taken up roost, and they do not enjoy being disturbed. When we visited, there was only 1 other couple on site, so it’s possible the birds aren’t disturbed often, thereby increasing their ire when it does happen. Rarely would we enter a room and not be greeted with the sudden, frantic flapping of wings—a sound that has always made me duck and cover my head, lest I get pooped on.

Every castle needs a pleasure garden. Craigmillar Castle's
had a pond in the shape of a P for Preston,
former owners of the castle.
Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

Abandoned castles tend to have very high ceilings, but in their prime, the rooms were much shorter. They had wooden ceilings that have since been lost to time, thus a single story room now would have been a two storied room then. This accounts for the doorways and windows some 10 feet off the ground. However, in Craigmillar Castle, the windows above the ground seem ordinary, not extraordinary. The castle has been altered so many times; it’s a veritable maze with dead ends, switch backs, and secret stairways.

Playing on the Curtain Wall
Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

I loved climbing the curtain wall and being in the guard towers. They provided wonderful vantages of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth leading to the North Sea. It was a mostly peaceful way to spend an afternoon, and I only say mostly because every flurry of wings caused minor heart attacks.

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Craigmillar Castle