Threave Castle

The last of the ruin reports for now. (The holidays already seem a long time ago despite the fact I've only been back at work for a week). This time we visit Threave Castle which is only reachable by boat (or a cold swim). I had imagined a rowing boat with an old man in a tweed bunnet at the oars (why? I don't know...), instead the boat had an outboard motor and was "manned" by a youngish lady with a headscarf. During the crossing she told us about the red kites and otters that can be seen, if you're lucky. We were also told to make sure we don't miss the castle dungeons. When you reach the photo of the dungeon, do not be alarmed! The spooky person you can see is a rather realistic looking dummy. Apparently the castle is securely locked over the winter months and when they unlocked it in the spring this year the dungeon dummy had moved, seemingly of his own accord - what other explanation could there be... Anyway, we enjoyed our visit, though we were a little disappointed by the lack of passages and rooms to explore. Of all the castles in the area that we have already been to I think Caerlaverock is the best. After visiting Threave Castle and being taken ashore again, we took the long walk back through the nature reserve. It's a good place to visit just for that, even if you don't go to the trouble of visiting the castle itself. Back at the visitor centre N met a giant otter. To finish there's a photo of Robert Burns with a blackbird on his head. It was taken whilst on a trawl of the Dumfries charity shops. There are many of them, but as seems usual these days, pickings were slim. I did find a nice pot (like I don't have enough already) and the children got more books (probably have enough of these too). But we like them all...