Crookston Castle

Cost

Free

Amenities 

Toilets, no gift shop. 

Where is it?

Pollock, just a stones throw from Silverburn shopping centre. From Glasgow take the M77, exiting at junction 2. Take a right at the lights and continue straight (passed Silverburn) to the roundabout. At the roundabout take a right (3rd exit) and continue along this road for a mile or so. You will see the castle on a small hill on your right. Turn right into the housing estate and find somewhere to park on the street. 

Castle Crashers

My wife works evey alternate weekend. During this time I look after our 4 children. My wife looks after them the majority of the time during the week. This isn't a problem during the summer; a trip to the park or a walk in the woods can be done with relative ease, with the long days and warm(ish) weather. Winter is different and difficult. It's cold and dark and the opportunities to get outdoors decrease. The children like to visit old places, mainly to explore and find out what's inside. I had chosen Crookston Castle for its closeness to our house, it is only a 20 minute drive away.
Path to the Castle 

A View of Crookston Through the Trees 

Explanation of the Ditch

Ditch

 Entry to the castle is free. It sits on a small hill in the middle of a housing estate. There is a large ditch that surrounds the castle, obviously to ward off any undesirables back in the day. There is a house to the entrance to the castle, this is where the toilet block is located.

Castle Layout

The site itself isn't that big but it does pack in a lot of rooms and places to explore. The ground level consists of the basement area, where food would be stored. The well is also located here. A short flight of steps up takes you to the hall where there is the what is left of a large fireplace.
Entrance

Basement

First Floor Fireplace 


From here you climb a narrow and winding staircase to the war room. The next three flights to the viewpoint at the top are done by taking an iron ladder. This can be steep at times and the hatch to the viewpoint on the roof is quite narrow. It's worth it though as you are rewarded by great views of Glasgow.
Iron Staircase 

Hatch to the Roof

View of the City

Is you would like to find out about the history of the castle then follow the link below. 

About Crookston Castle

While your here, you could extend your visit in the area by taking a walk in Ross Hall Gardens, a small but pleasant park, perfect for a short stroll. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dechmont Hill

Image
Walking With Kids At last, after a weekend where it barely stopped raining there was a break in the weather, and a chance to get out. Dechmont hill is our closest climb and measures just under 200m, which gives the kids a chance to get to the top. We parked on the road that runs parallel behind Gilbertfield road. The walk started on the track that leads to Dechmont farm and the shooting range. They are now turning this area into housing, so be careful of builders lorries etc. We took a left turn at the road which leads to the farm, and then a right at the Dechmont Range House, now abandoned. The track ends at a small compound, but takes you past the ruins of Gilbertfield Castle. Gilbertfield Castle The compound contains a couple of old houses which acts as a control station for the shooting range. There is no access through it, instead take a left turn before the end of the track and make your way through the grass. There is a path through here but can be obscured by the tall grass sur
Read more

Cort-ma Law

Image
  Cort-ma Law Less than an hours drive from Glasgow, just north of Lennoxtown are the Campsie hills, which allows for a quick days hike.  Starting Point The best place to start is at the Campsie Glen waterfall car park. This can get busy, so it is best to try and get a parking space early. The walk itself starts directly opposite the car park.  Car park location Location of hill Route The track ascends immediately from the carpark travelling east, go past the old shelter covered in graffiti. Shelter Hike up from the car park The track continues upward and the track could be tricky at this point for younger walkers. The first part of the walk ends at a small cairn marker.  First marker cairn From there the hike undulates for 2km as it snakes it's way slightly south of the actual top. Here you will reach a bigger cairn marker.  Second marker cairn From this marker turn north east to the trig point 4.5 km distance. The height of the summit is 526m. We reached the top with 4 kids in 1
Read more

Bike and Hike

Image
"It was a shame that for all the beauty of the scenery that the top of the mountain was covered in mist." Ben Alder and Ben Bheoil  These two Munros stand south of Dalwhinnie in a remote part of Scotland. The best way of getting to them is to cycle out to Culra bothy, some 17km, which, I suppose is one way of warming up before a lengthy hike. These hills were not even on my radar for possible hills to visit but something happened that changed all that. I have had a mountain bike for over 20 years now, for over 15 years it has been covered up, sitting, rusting out the back. A few years ago I did replace the main gear cassette and chain however frustrated at not getting the gears working properly I gave up and left it. That was until the start of the summer. I had decided on not worrying about gears, all I wanted to do is to cycle and to have a bike that would be a low maintenance as possible. With that in mind I took the gear shifters off, pushed the rear mech back and fixed t
Read more