Baltersan Castle, Maybole, United Kingdom

Baltersan Castle is a ruined L-plan tower house located near Maybole, Scotland. The site was originally occupied by Baltersan House, owned by Egidia Blair, Lady Row, who died in 1530. After her death, the house was demolished. The remains of her tomb can be seen in nearby Crossraguel Abbey. Her will survives and shows she was a generous benefactor to the Abbey, relatives, friends and neighbours. The inscription above the door tell us that the existing tower-house was built on the site in 1584, the work of John Kennedy of Pennyglen (near Maybole) and Margaret Cathcart, his spouse.

In 1721, the castle passed into the hands of Captain Hugh Arbuthnot, cousin to John Kennedy of Baltersan. By the middle of the 18th century, the castle had become abandoned and remains so to the present day.

The castle is a three-storey L-plan castle with an attic and garret. Its walls measure1.2 m in thickness. It has a vaulted ground floor and ashlar turrets on the northwestern and southeastern angles that are provided with gun loops.

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Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.

Scott Mcgarill (2 years ago)

Ian Mcbroom (4 years ago)
Well worth the walk up the hill but would really need to go on a dry day !!

Andrew Butler (4 years ago)
You can't really get close and only view is from very busy main road

hairybeanbag81 (4 years ago)

Ksenia McAdie (6 years ago)
History of this castle is fascinating

Baltersan Castle

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