Kellie Castle
Taking advantage of my National Trust membership, Kellie Castle and Gardens was a site I hadn’t visited before so I was excited to drive out and see what was there. Originally a tower house, the oldest part believed to date from around 1360. In keeping with similar properties, it underwent extensions through subsequent centuries. In 1573 a second tower was constructed and then between 1573 and 1606 the towers were linked by further building work, which was completed with another tower resulting in a T-plan which we can see today. The castle has an impressive garden to the side and rear. The grounds to the front have left the grass to grow wild, with simple paths cut short to allow for walks through these meadows. This helps to encourage insects and other wildlife and is a great thing to be doing.
I didn’t have a tour booked, so didn’t manage to go inside so had to content myself with reading up on the interior afterwards. During my research I discovered that the castle is mentioned in a paper produced by the National Trust on connections of their properties to the Witch Trials from 1563-1736. During the seventeenth century the castle was owned by the Erskines of Dirleton and Alexander Erskine was an investigator of Margaret Guthrie from Carnbee who was accused in 1666. Some details can be viewed on the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft website.
The castle has a tea room which was quite busy, with tables and chairs outside from which the view can be admired. I recall there was a gentleman sitting on a bench against the castle wall with some type of bird of prey on his shoulder. Quite surreal!
From there it was a quick drive over to the coast and the town of Anstruther, which is famous for its fish and chips. It’s also a departure point for the Isle of May and its nature reserve so that’s on my list of things to see. I had been through Anstruther the other year on a trip down the East coast but didn’t stop that time. The last time I was there was after the Covid lockdowns and was where I had my first pint of beer (I wasn’t driving that day) purchased from a pub after the pandemic. Looking back that was a big event given the extent of the lockdowns we experienced in Scotland. Being able to go out and have fish and chips and then a pint while sitting outside was a real treat and one that has stuck in my mind.
As an aside I’ve also since revisited Stirling Castle – see part 191 of this blog series – in particular to look at the kitchen as I needed to get up to speed on food and drink in medieval Scotland and there is some good information on display here. This has come in handy for my role at Blackness Castle which I’m continuing with during the winter months as this site stays open all year.