A Castle and a Mermaid.

Castle Gloom, which lies between the Burn of Sorrow and the Burn of Care, was the mournful sounding destination for a trip we took earlier this week. With leaden grey skies and sudden downpours of rain, the weather was suitably dismal for our visit, but the castle (now called Castle Campbell) and its location are beautiful and well worth a visit. 

We parked halfway up the hill and enjoyed the steep walk with tantalising glimpses of the castle along the way. Before entering the castle grounds we walked further up the hill through woodland and were rewarded with a view of the castle and beyond with the last of the bluebells decorating the slope at our feet.

Once inside the castle it's possible to climb the tower for yet more lovely views from the rooftop.

We ate our picnic lunch in the pretty gardens though had to make a dash for shelter form the rain before we were quite finished.We then returned to the car by the path along one of the burns. It was rather a damp walk, but the smell of the wild garlic down by the burn was quite delicious.

The last two photos were taken from the car coming home. The mermaid is called Arria.