Tuesday, 1 March 2022

Skulferatu #61 - Craiglockhart Castle, Glenlockhart Road, Edinburgh


It was one of those days that promises to be warm but ends up freezing your ears off.  I found this out as I went for a stroll around the slippery and sludgy mud paths of Craiglockhart Hill.  The higher up I got, the more my ears stung with the cold breeze.  If only I’d thought to bring a hat with me, just in case.  Coming down off the hill I made my way over to the grounds of Napier University and the ruins of Craiglockhart Castle.

 

A photo showing a squat, square stone building, Craiglockhart Castle, that is in ruins.  There is a doorway blocked off with stone and in the distance many signs and lampposts as the ruin sits by the car park of Napier University in Edinburgh.   Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The ruins of Craiglockhart Castle

 

A photo showing the stone wall of Craiglockhart Castle and within the wall is the pattern of the doorway now blocked off with stone and above that, to the right, there is a slit window. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The doorway to the castle

 

A photo showing vegetation growing out the top of Craiglockhart Castle. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The roof of the castle – overgrown with vegetation

 

A photo showing a squat, square stone building, Craiglockhart Castle, that is in ruins.  There is a doorway blocked off with stone and vegetation grows out of the top of the building. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The ruins of Craiglockhart Castle

 

Some castles are just ruins, others are completely f*cked.  Craiglockhart Castle is one of the latter.  Not much remains of the castle now, it is just a crumbling square of stone walls with some vegetation growing out of it.  To be honest, it wasn’t really ever much of a castle, but was more just a small, four storey tower house with pretentions.  Now only the first storey and part of the second storey remain.

 

A photo showing a view of the ruins Craiglockhart Castle with the road to the car park running past it.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The ruins of Craiglockhart Castle

 

A photo showing a view of the ruins Craiglockhart Castle and a slit window within the stone walls. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The ruins of Craiglockhart Castle

 

A photo showing a view of the ruins Craiglockhart Castle with a slit window in the walls and vegetation growing out from the top of it. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The ruins of Craiglockhart Castle

 

A photo showing a view of the ruins Craiglockhart Castle in the grounds of Napier University, Edinburgh. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The ruins of Craiglockhart Castle

 

Not much is known about the history of the castle, and theories about it are that it was either built for the Kincaid family in the 12th Century or in the 15th Century for the Lockharts of Lee.  Nobody really knows and its story is now lost in the mists of time.  I’m sure many interesting things happened here, intrigues, love affairs, scandals, and deaths.  Maybe it was even the site of the first contact between man and traveller from outer space, but we will never know, as all the memories of this building are now gone.  Gone with those who once lived here.  Gone and forgotten.

 

And on that cheery note, I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me on my walk in one of the many thousands of gaps and holes in the crumbling walls of the castle.

 

A picture of a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 61) being held up with Craiglockhart Castle in the background. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #61

 

A picture of a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 61) in an indentation in the worn stone of the walls of Craiglockhart Castle. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #61 in a gap in the castle walls

 

A close up picture of a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 61) in an indentation in the worn stone of the walls of Craiglockhart Castle. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #61 in a gap in the castle walls

 

TomTom Map showing location of Skulferatu #61 at Craiglockhart Castle, Edinburgh
Map showing location of Skulferatu #61

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.919290

Longitude -3.238320

 

I used the following sources for information on Craiglockhart Castle –

 

Canmore

Craiglockhart Castle | Canmore

 

Gazetteer for Scotland

Craiglockhart Castle: Overview of Craiglockhart Castle (scottish-places.info)

 

The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century

Volume Three

By David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross

1887

 

 

 


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