Barony Castle

It was our anniversary earlier this month and we had a few days in a Scottish castle to celebrate (another Travelzoo deal.) We stayed at Barony Castle which is just north of Peebles in the Scottish borders. Lovely castle with pool, sauna and extensive grounds.


I always think the drive north west from here is a very pleasant one. Up towards Kendal then up through the lakes and Howgills and on into the borders. Never a busy or stressful drive. Our journey up went well with good weather. We arrived early so we had a wander round the grounds before we checked in. We were given a wee dram of whiskey on our arrival and our complimentary tickets to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith docks outside Edinburgh.

The afternoon was a local stroll then back for a swim and sauna then a couple of Guinness (again) before dinner. Dinner was very nice, very arty and a very long time coming. However there was enough and as I say it was very tasty.

Following day after breakfast (which was a buffet style and a lot quicker) we headed off for Leith. The tour round Britannia was excellent, the history, the stories and the people who have been on it as guests was quite fascinating. To say the yacht is over fifty years old it is in very good condition and the obvious lack of computers on the bridge and elsewhere remind you of what life was like before technology.

From Leith we headed down to look at Rosslyn Chapel a cracking wee chapel which featured in the Davinci Code. I have never seen so many carvings in such a small chapel. You could spend days looking at and trying to understand them all, super place and well worth a visit.

After the chapel it was back to the castle for another swim, sauna and Guinness session before another long awaited dinner. The following and final day we headed back home stopping off at Peebles and Moffatt with another stop at a view point where we had a breezy stroll.

The drive back down was stunning as the sun shone and the lakeland hills were all clearly visible, arriving back home early evening.