I had been wanting to go and see Cawdor Castle for a few years, but not had the excuse to just get on with it and go until I heard that The Antiques Roadshow were going to be there! To my knowledge, they don’t visit that many locations in Scotland, at least during each year’s filming. I do love watching other people’s treasures – especially family stories.
We decided we didn’t really have anything we wanted valued, so packed ourselves off to the station to get the train to Nairn, outside of Inverness – which is the closest to Cawdor and the castle. For June it wasn’t really warm and the weather was pretty atrocious, as was the non-existent bus service available to Cawdor, but hey-ho we got there and immediately loved the castle and gardens.
The castle is beautiful, and reminded me a little of Fraser, the rooms are also really comfortable looking – which is much in keeping with the fact that it is still a family home. Enjoyed some of the paintings too – especially the portraits which were over the front desk where you show your tickets. Had a nice wander around the shop to get my obligatory guide book, and to read more about the tree preserved within the castle itself…
Time for a final wander around the gardens (loved the roses) and to take some pictures and generally people watch the visitors and spot AR experts! This is when I spotted this before we left:
Right in the centre you’ll spot the presenter Fiona Bruce! It was nice to see her, if only at a distance. The programme I believe is scheduled for the end of 2012, early 2013.
And I didn’t even manage to mention THAT Scottish play in this post!
*UPDATE The programme has now been shown. You can see a clip here.
Which Grand Duchess Would YOU Be?