Last modified on 21 August 2000.
Encyclopædia Galactica
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Blair Castle
Drawing of the
Blair Castle grounds
1 - Blair Castle, the main entrance
2 - Car & coach park
3 - Exhibition hall, Gift shop & Restaurant
4 - Deer park
5 - Pony centre & horse meadows
6 - Diana's grove
7 - St. Bride's Kirk
8 - Old Blair
9 - Hercules garden
10 - Children's play area
Click any miniature photo to see a larger version (physical size
varies between 93 and 265 kB).
Blair Castle.
Main gate to Blair Castle grounds.
A few Highland cattle grazing next to the main
gate (presumably placed there to lure tourists to stop and come in).
On the castle grounds a large and tidy camping
area seems to be quite popular.
A long avenue leads from the main gate to the
castle.
Blair Castle main entrance.
A (very small) part of arms collection
at the entrance hall.
Another part of the arms collection.
John, the 1st Duke of
Atholl (6 May 1684 - 11 September 1709 in a battle at Malplaquet).
The Dining Room: Built by James,
the 2nd Duke of Atholl in the 18th century. Paintings by Thomas
Bradwell. Silver stag on a base of Glen Tilt marble on top of
the table was silver wedding gift to 7th Duke and Dutchess by the
Atholl tenants in 1888.
The Dining Room: Masterful ceiling
by Thomas Clayton. Flags are those of the Atholl Highlanders.
The Derby Room: 'Grandfather' clock in
English lacquer long case made by Hally in 1737.
The Red Bedroom: 18th century four-poster
bedstead made by William Masters in 1750.
Irish Elk: From Ballaugh, Isle of Man. Found
5.5 metres (18 ft) below surface in 1819. Approximate width of
antlers 2.5 metres.
A late mediaeval armour of a
knight and his horse for tournament.
The Ballroom: Built in 1876/7 by the 7th
Duke of Atholl. Over one hundred deer antlers decorate the walls and the
collection of weapons, drums, chain armour, and other souvenirs brought
from the Sudan campaign by the 8th Duke is the best of its kind, including
that in the Kalifa's palace. The Ballroom is used for balls, dinners,
concerts, wedding receptions, and the Annual Glenfiddich World Piping
Championships.
A piper plays bagpipes thrice every day in front of
the castle.
Blair Castle seen from
the direction of the Diana's Grove.
Blair Castle seen from the direction
of horse meadows.
The Blair Castle horse meadows. A large number of
deer and white horses were grazing on these meadows.
Diana's Grove: a park of planted trees from North
America and elsewhere.
The tallest tree, 59 metre Douglas Fir, in
the Diana's Grove. All trees in the grove are numbered and catalogued and
next to some of them is a sign board with information about the tree.
A 41 metre tall Giant Redwood from California.
The bark of the tree is very soft and yields to the pressure of a finger -
many people have tested this themselves as can be seen from the lowest
part of the tree trunk.
Some trees have developed a
complex structure of branches - like this one with huge branches high
on the tree.
St. Bride's Kirk: an old chapel behind the
Diana's Grove. John Graham of Claverhouse alias 'Bonnie
Dundee', a leader of the Jacobites, was buried here after he was
killed in the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689.
A view from the castle front door towards
Hercules Walk leading to the Hercules Garden.
Hercules Garden: A traditional walled garden
that is under transformation into a more natural garden. In the middle
of the garden lies a long rectangular pond that was used for winter
sports and games in the 1700s and 1800s but not any more, since the pond
has not frozen in several decades.
A view from the Statue of
Hercules. (I didn't take a photo of the statue as it was not a superb
example of the art of sculpture.)
A view towards the castle.
A side entrance to the castle grounds.
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Created by
Rami T. F. Rekola