Dundonald Castle

Dundonald Castle is a ruin in the Ayrshire district of Scotland. It was built for Robert II in 1371 and was home to many Scottish kings over the years.

Directions, Admission and Opening Hours


The easiest way to get to the castle is to drive, following the A78 to Irving and then following the signs to Dundonald. You can also get to the town on public transport, buses stop within a few minutes’ walk of the visitors centre and there are train services to local towns, and from there you can get a bus or a taxi.
Admission: Adult £2.50, Child £1.25 (under 5 free).

The castle and the visitors centre are open 10am to 5pm from 1st April to 31st October.

Accessibility


The visitors centre is completely accessible for those in wheelchairs; however the castle is located at the top of a very steep hill, which may cause difficulties. If you are able to reach the castle access it limited to the ground floor only, as there are only stairs to the upper floor not ramps.


The Visitors Centre



After parking at the visitors centre car park, you enter the visitors centre, you can choose to just look around the centre and view the castle from a distance, or you can look around the centre and then take the short (but steep) walk up the hill and look inside the castle as well.

The Visitors Centre includes 4 models; the models show how the castle would have looked over the years. The first shows how the area was used as a fort in the Dark Ages (approx 500AD), it seems that this fort was burned down in approximately 1000AD and by 1200AD a motte and bailey castle stood on the site. I didn’t know what a motte and bailey castle was, and had to look it up when I got home, it seems that motte is French for raised mound or in this case a hill, and bailey means there is an enclosed courtyard, usually by a fence. This was replaced by a huge castle in 1300 surrounded by stone walls. This castle however was subject to a lot of attacks from the English in the many battles between the Scots and the English. The final castle was a much smaller affair than the 1300AD castle; in fact it was just the gatehouse of the 1300AD castle that formed the basis of the castle build for Robert II. The models are well made and are really good for people who aren’t able to imagine the buildings from the descriptions alone.

Around the walls of the visitors centre there are depictions of shields and information about each. There are also some artefacts which have been unearthed over the years. The centre is not huge and probably only takes 20-30 minutes to look around, presuming you study everything thoroughly, for a lot of people it will take much less time.

Also in the visitors centre you’ll find a small cafe, with about half a dozen tables (perhaps up to 8). They serve hot and cold drinks, and a small selection of sandwiches and home baking.
They also have a small shop which sells books about the castle and other Scottish castles; they also have a small selection of toys, jewellery and other knick knacks.


The Castle


From the visitors centre you can walk up to the castle. On the walk you’ll pass a well, this was unearthed a couple of decades ago, and it was also when they discovered the remains of the 1300AD castle.

The castle inside is quite bare, you enter into a huge hall, and about halfway up the wall there is a platform which you can reach via the stairs. The platform is at about the same level as the timber floor would have been originally. The stairs you use to reach the platform were originally the servant’s stairs. There is a plaque on the platform which gives you all the information about what the hall was used for and how it would have looked originally.

Further along the platform you can take a look at the prison and the prison pit, or you can climb a steel staircase up to the great hall. The Great Hall is where the private rooms would have been, and it was in one of those rooms that Robert II died in 1390.


My Thoughts


It’s not the most beautiful castle I have ever seen but the castle is an impressive sight, and because it’s high up on the hill it can be seen from quite a distance, I can imagine it was quite an imposing sight in 14th Century.

I enjoyed the visitors centre, as did my children. The models certainly helped them imagine how things would have looked when they were built. They were also very interesting in the heraldic shields, which I found surprising because they’d never shown any interest before.

Once you get up to the castle the scale of the work hits you. It always amazes me how these castles were built without modern transportation; using horses to drag those stones up that hill must have been such a struggle. And it makes you wonder about the scale of the earlier castle, which according to the model was about 3 times the size of the current castle, it must have been such an amazing sight in its day.

I found the castle interesting, but then I’m always amazed by the logistics of building these old buildings, and find it quite easy to imagine the life people used to live. My children however, weren’t overly impressed, obviously they haven’t read as much as I have, so they couldn’t imagine how things would have been. And because the rooms are just large bare stone, there was nothing really to spark their imaginations.

We all enjoyed the views from the top of the castle though, and it was hard even for me to imagine how the English ever managed to do any damage, because they would have been seen from miles away.

The selection was of food and cakes that were available in the cafe was small, but the food was delicious, and the staff were more than happy to chat about the castle as you are enjoying your drinks.

Just outside the visitors centre there’s a playground and skateboard park, I believe it is part of the castle facilities, but it’s also used by the locals. The children enjoyed having a play in the playground before we set off home again.

The entrance fee to the castle isn’t expensive, so I’d definitely recommend visiting, unlike somewhere like Culzean Castle it won’t be a full day out, but it certainly takes up a good couple of hours to give it justice.