Colinton Castle
Here's something you'd never find out about unless you actually
lived there. Actually, if you're a native Edinburgher, you probably wouldn't care - it takes a curious Canadian living there to discover stuff like this...
Colinton Castle is unknown to most tourists. It's not maintained by the National Trust, and is not mentioned in any brochures. Destroyed by that idiot Oliver Cromwell and his goons in 1650, it was repaired the following year. Then, in the 18th century, it was partially demolished by the painter Alexander Nasmyth because he wanted a "picturesque ruin" on his property.
Back when I lived there, you could actually go into the ruin and climb the staircase up to the first floor. Or where the first floor used to be.
Since I lived there, the Castle has deteriorated further - in 2003 the south tower collapsed. As a result, the Castle is fenced off and theoretically inaccessible. My pictures from last week are all from outside. I photographed between the fence grating to make it look like the fence wasn't there.
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Here's two pictures I took in 1992 from inside the castle:
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