Drumlanrig Castle
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-> Drumlanrig Castle
Seventeen miles north of Dumfries, Drumlanrig Castle (Easter & May-Aug Mon-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun noon-4pm; www.drumlanrigcastle.org.uk; £6; gardens and country park only £3) is not a castle at all, but the grandiose stately home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. Visitors approach via an impressive driveway that sweeps along an avenue of lime trees to the pink sandstone house with its forest of cupolas, turrets and towers. The highlights of the richly furnished interior are really the paintings in the oak-panelled staircase hall. The most famous trio of works are Rembrandt's Old Woman Reading, an extremely sensitive composition dappling the shadow of the subject's hood against her white surplice, Hans Holbein's formal portrait of Sir Nicholas Carew, Master of the Horse to Henry VIII, and the Madonna with the Yarnwinder by Leonardo da Vinci. Also be sure to check out the striking 1950s portrait of the present duchess, all débutante coiffure and high-society décolletage, by John Merton in the morning room, and, in the serving room, John Ainslie's Joseph Florence, Chef, a sharply observed and dynamic portrait much liked by Walter Scott.
As well as the house, Drumlanrig offers a host of other attractions, including formal gardens and a forested country park (mid-April to Sept daily 11am-5pm). The old stableyard beside the castle contains a visitor centre, a few shops, the inevitable tearoom, and also a useful bike rental outlet, as the park is crisscrossed by footpaths and cycle routes; elsewhere in the grounds, there's an adventure playground. If you're heading here by bus from Dumfries or Ayr, bear in mind it's a one-and-a-half-mile walk from the road to the house.
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