Portencross Castle
Having had decent weather while on the Isle of Bute, on reaching Portencross Castle it was cold, wet and windy, but that didn’t dampen my excitement on seeing this impressive structure perched right on the coast. It was closed for the season now and won’t be open again to visitors until next year, but I see from the website that you can hire the castle for your own event. The website is great, with some cool drone footage, so well worth taking a look if it’s not possible for you to make the trip.
The castle dates from the mid 1300’s, with the land given to the Boyd family by Robert the Bruce for their support during the war of independence. The Boyds built the castle on what is an ideal spot to help with the defence of the sea route. There was a harbour here, allowing easy access to the islands in the Firth of Clyde, for example to Rothesay Castle on the Isle of Bute. From the information board, the original great hall and cellar ate still intact.
The castle is just outside a town called Seamill, which is in West Kilbride, and is accessed by taking a very narrow road. When visiting such places, it’s something you just have to negotiate, and is typical of Scotland. These routes were established long before the car came along. This often means there is barely room for two cars to pass on such routes so you need to take it easy when driving. If walking it’s a bit of a hike. Google reckons it’s three quarters of an hour on foot from Seamill. There are a couple of cottages down there, and it’s typical of such areas of Scotland. Drive five minutes away from the main towns and things become pretty quiet. Such a fantastic location and well worth making the effort to visit. I did come across what looks like the barrel of an old canon lying on the mound of grass to the side. I took a photo, but haven’t found any reference to it. I also don’t see it on the drone footage on the website, so it’s a bit of a mystery.
The Fiction Factory 