Inveraray Castle sits on the edge of the small town of Inveraray in Argyll in Scotland. Everything is stunning about the town and the Castle. The town sits on the shores of Loch Fyne and is overlooked by lovely hills. The castle is the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, but is also open to the public.
Its a stunning castle, in a square setting with round towers on all four corners - its fairly 'modern' Castle dating from the 1700s and is built with a fantastic stone that seems to have a green hue. The setting is quite spectacular, with views to the surrounding hills, and the well kept grounds of the castle estate.
There are some gardens are amazing and in autumn the colours can be just spectacular. The castle also has a particularly fine feature which is the cafe in the basement floor - the home baking is to die for - do not exit the castle without trying the millionaires shortbread !!!
The entrance to the castle is through a particularly ornate conservatory-bridge-porch thingy which is quite fancy.
The inside of the castle is worth a tour, although for me its the outside and the surrounding grounds that really make it. The corner towers are amazing features - and when designed they really were setting the bar for a stunner of a castle.
The local town of Inveraray is also quite impressive for its white painted frontage and main street.
The jetty is also quite quaint and usually has some ships worth taking a look at - with beautiful views to the hills in the background.
Getting back to the castle - it is an architectural beauty - very photogenic. It is popular, but I always find that it is never over-crowded, although sometimes the cafe can be quite busy - but thats just down to it being so good !
The castle has impressive fine detail - and there is lots to look at. Just look at the wee white painted window below reflecting the pointed roofs of the four corner turrets - there really was some incredible thought put into its design.
The castle hosts the Inveraray Highland games each year, which includes the world champion caber tossing competition. Its a very traditional highland games and our favourite games to visit - having been many a time.
They even have traditional highland wrestling which you dont see that often these days. I always find it quite funny as you see all the local young loons out to impress !
In summary:
- The castle is a must see if visiting Argyll and you cannot visit without sampling the cakes in the tea room,
- If you want to see some highland games - then you cant go wrong with the Inveraray games,
- The local town and setting is also quite spectacular and you really have to see if all if you do visit.
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For a reasonable annual membership price, both provide access to numerous historic properties across Scotland which are great for days out. Once you've been a member for more than a year you also got free access to other properties across England, Wales and Northern Ireland (including half price entry during your first year) - so its well worth the investment, plus its all for a good cause.
