Castle Campbell
 

Has anyone been here?? And how hard is to get to from Edinburgh? We are from Florida and will be driving a rental there, if possible. My maiden name is Campbell, so it would be really neat to see.

Castle Campbell would likely be less than an hour's drive from Edinburgh. The nearby towns of Dollar and Clackmannan are also worth a visit.

For the epicenter of Campbell-ness, you should visit Inverary way out to the west of Glasgow on Loch Fyne. The Duke of Argyll's digs (head of ye clan) has plenty of swords and boars' heids on the walls, and the town itself, a planned estate village from the 1700s, is really very attractive. Tug your forelock and say hello from any pals you have named Macdonald. Read up on the 1745 rebellion before you get there if you can.

I am quite aware of the bad blood between the Macdonald's and my namesakes. How far is Inverary from Edinburgh. We fly in to Edinburgh at like 8 or 9am and don't fly out until the next day around 8pm, I think. So, I don't want to totally have the trip engulfed in Campbell-ness. I think they are being kind letting me go. Thanks!!

125 miles or so, probably around 3 hours. The bonus is that Inverary is located in some very fine Highland scenery, so it makes a lovely day trip.

Castle Capbell is an easy 1/2 day trip from Edinburgh and a wonderful place to visit. Inverary, on the other hand, is WAY too far if you are only going to be in Edinburgh 1.5 days.

Dollar Glen leads down from the Castle into the village od Dollar is a nice hike if you have the time.

of course - I meant Castle Campbell - sorry about the typo.

I am thinking through this Castle Campbell thing and thought I'd top this. Anybody that has gone, or knows the area, is it worth the hastle of a car rental? I say this because, after calling the car rental place, I have found all of these little charges. I know we have mutiple charges on rentals here in the U.S. but, my car insurance covers car rentals here, and in Scotland it does not. My original gut feeling was to just forget it and take public transportation for Edinburgh airport into the city, but my brother says "When will you have the chance again?" Which, will probably be never.

Castle Campbell is in a beautiful location but does require a rental car. It is a ruin for the most part, but quite interesting and I agree, the hike is beautiful.

If it is just a castle, I wouldn't rent a car for one day to see it. If you feel some family connection to it, you might be more inclined. You seem to have studied your family history enough that it would be worth it. If it were me, I would spend more time in the countryside anyway.

Bill