点评:Balloch was a property of the Lennox family from the 11th century, and the old castle was built in the 13th century. In the 19th century the estate was purchased by John Buchanan of Ardoch, who demolished the ruins of the old castle and erected the present building.
Balloch Castle is an early 19th-century country house with Tudor Gothic architecture which was designed by Lugar. Robert Lugar was a British architect and engineer in the Industrial Revolution - he created Cyfarthfa Castle, The Rectory in Yaxham, Denham Mount in south Buckinghamshire, Wyelands in Monmouthshire and Bardon Hall.
In 1914 Glasgow Corporation bought Balloch Castle and the Estate for £30,000. Dumbarton District Council leased the Estate in 1975 and it was officially designated a Country Park in 1981. The Castle was used as a base for Dumbarton District Council Countryside Ranger Service, as well as being the headquarters of the local division of the Nature Conservancy Council.
Sadly, whilst the ranger service still looks after it... it has fallen into a state of disrepair. I was able to ask a ranger who visited the site and she told me that it is now no longer used for safety reasons which explains the fencing. So, without a grant to restore this... it will not reopen which is a shame. It has a stately location in a beautiful country park.
Is it worth walking to ? Hell yes... who would not want to see a castle?!? But it reminds you that nothing lasts forever, and with the safety concerns being high on public areas... we may not see this open to the public again.
翻译:Balloch从11世纪起就是Lennox家族的财产,古堡建于13世纪。在 19 世纪,该庄园被 Ardoch 的 John Buchanan 买下,他拆除了旧城堡的废墟并建造了现在的建筑。
巴洛赫城堡是一座 19 世纪早期的乡间别墅,拥有都铎哥特式建筑,由 Lugar 设计。 Robert Lugar 是工业革命时期的英国建筑师和工程师 - 他创建了 Cyfarthfa 城堡、Yaxham 的教区长官邸、南白金汉郡的 Denham Mount、Monmouthshire 的 Wyelands 和 Bardon Hall。
1914 年,格拉斯哥公司以 30,000 英镑的价格买下了巴洛赫城堡和庄园。敦巴顿区议会于 1975 年租用了该庄园,并于 1981 年正式指定为郊野公园。该城堡被用作敦巴顿区议会乡村护林员服务的基地,以及大自然保护协会地方分部的总部。
可悲的是,虽然护林员服务仍在照料它……但它已经年久失修了。我问了一位访问过该网站的护林员,她告诉我现在出于安全原因不再使用它,这解释了围栏的原因。所以,如果没有拨款来恢复这个……它不会重新打开,这是一种耻辱。它在一个美丽的郊野公园中拥有庄严的位置。
值得步行去吗?地狱是......谁不想看到一座城堡?!?但它提醒你,没有什么是永恒的,并且由于公共区域的安全问题很高......我们可能不会再次向公众开放。