Friday 25 March 2011: Crumbling Remains of Thurso Castle
Friday! Phew...it's been a long busy week and now it is the weekend thank goodness!
Sadly this castle which sits near the mouth of the Thurso harbour is in a state of ruin. It started as a 12th century earthwork fortress - that would explain the steep earthy slope that I had to climb up from the beach to get to it. In mid 17th century, George Earl of Caithness founded a stone tower that you can still see the remains of. In the 19th century, Sir Tollemache Sinclair absorbed the house in the construction of a Scottish baronial mansion. Sadly in 1952, parts of the castle were demolished and the remains are now a roofless shell.
There is a gang of raven/rook/crow type birds that frequent the tower and appear to be nesting there. You can see some of the fallen masonry in a pile in the foreground and the red wooden door says "private" Everything is boarded up so that nobody can get into it - it would be a dangerous place to be!
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