One of my stops this year HAD to be Dracua’s Castle (Bran Castle), I have loved everything about Dracula since I was a kid so seeing the castle was like a childhood dream.
Come take a walk around the castle, and see its many amazing rooms.
Visit Date : 3rd June 2017
Website : www.gretnagreen.com
I had not been to Gretna Green for many years, and couldn’t really remember much about the trip there and what was actually there so I had a day off work and decided to visit.
If you want the history of Gretna, my best advice would be to take a look at the website as thats going to be a lot more accurate than me.
The weather for today was mixed, it kept changing from rain to sunny and looking at the clouds it was hard to tell what was coming.
The journey from Glasgow to Gretna was very nice, the weather on the way down was nice and sunny and it was really nice to see all the greenery and the nearly clear skies.
After 2.5 hours driving we arrived….
To be honest there isn’t a lot to do here, but it is a nice little walk around. If your in to history then you can take a few tours, read a lot about each little building and the romantic history.
There are your normal tourist shops, and a few places to eat and relax.
Places To See When Here :
As you walk about there are a lot of little sculptures, with descriptions and also some posters with information and facts about Gretna Green to read which is very interesting.
Before heading to the outlet we sat down and got some Afternoon Tea.
I can’t remember the name of this cafe, its right next to the big hands. The afternoon tea was around £12 for two, and I have to admit for the money it was amazing as you got loads and could have easily fed 3 people.
Fed and watered now on to the outlet…
The outlet isn’t that far away from here, and as you would expect a good amount of shops with free wifi and ok prices.
Outlet Website : www.gretnagateway.com
I did get myself a nice hoodie when I was here, I couldn’t visit and not get something that would just be rude 🙂
This was a nice little day trip out, and was nice to see a very famous area that has a lot of romantic history. I was told people still come from all over the world, just to get married here.
Castle Road
Dumbarton
Dunbartonshire
G82 1JJ
Visit Date : Wednesday 19th April 2017
Cost : £5.00 per adult
The last time I was at any castle, would have been when I was in primary school so I was looking forward to talking a walk around the castle and seeing the sights.
I was very lucky today as the weather started out very dull and part of me thought it would rain, but it turned out to be a very nice day as you can see from some of the photos.
We visited a little cafe called The Little Coffee Shop and Sandwich Bar.
Facebook : thelittlecoffeeshopdumbarton
94 Glasgow Road
G82 1JP
Dumbarton
The cafe has a nice cosy, warm and relaxing look and atmosphere.
On entry we were welcomed and took a table, we were then given menu’s and took a few minutes to decided what to have before our long walk around the Castle.
I decided to order a Cappuccino and a roll and bacon, I didn’t want to fill myself up too much as my girlfriend prepared lunch for both of us.
I could have easily had a few of the cakes as they looked really good, but I thought I better be good.
I didn’t take note of the costs, but it was about standard prices for these items.
If I was ever back in Dumbarton I would return here to try a few other things, and some of the cakes as they looked really nice.
When we came out the cafe the Castle was only about a 10min walk, so we just took our time and enjoyed the sun that was starting to come out.
I took many many photos but I will only add a small amount, so you can see some of the locations I visited.
The castle has many many steps, so if you are not able to do a lot of walking then maybe this Castle isn’t for you. If you don’t mind lots of steps, then you will be treated to some amazing views and a lot of history.
As you’re walking about the grounds of the castle, you will come across several points of interest these include a prison, where they stored the gun powder etc etc I didn’t expect to find as many as I did.
There are also educational post markers about, where you learn a little about this specific area e.g. one was feeling how heavy a bucket was as this was to represent how heavy it would have been when they were carrying water around the castle.
The land is kept in very good condition, and I saw they are always working on it to keep it really nice, clean and tidy.
The main areas that you will visit when you are here, thats if you manage all the stairs are :
Plus as you are walking about, the views you are treated to is amazing.
Overall the visit was very nice, the weather today was really good which made that more enjoyable as if it was raining climbing all the stairs wouldn’t have been nice.
I would come back and see the castle again, firstly as it’s a nice cheap day out and also if it’s a nice day the views are amazing.
As I said just a nice short post on my visit, if you want more historical details check out the website or go and visit….or even both.
