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From Aug 2006 - Nov 2013 WeDig provided a live forum for diggers & fans of Vindolanda. It has now been mothballed and will be maintained as a live archive.

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Slains Castle (for Rosie et al)
Topic Started: Nov 12 2007, 09:07 AM (615 Views)
SacoHarry
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Hey Rosie (and any other lovers of Scottish ruins). I think I remember you said you used to visit Slains Castle back in the day? Looks like somebody's actually got a plan to restore it and turn it into a batch of holiday houses. Not sure how I feel about that. I think it's one of the most perfect ruins I've ever seen!

For those who don't know, it's about a half-hour north of Aberdeen, right on the coast. The only access is about a half-mile walk through heather & wildflowers. And when you reach it you suddenly realize you're at the edge of a tall cliff, and the squawk of about 1000 seagulls nesting there is almost overwhelming. Do the walk at dusk and it's really creepy.

- Harry
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Rosie
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Hi Harry - Hope all is well with the family and you have your dig booked up for next year!

Slains Castle is one of my all time favourite places. As you say, it is quite spectacular on the cliff edge and the way a proper ruined castle should look. I don't think I like the idea of it being converted into flats. It is always a difficult decision as to whether to restore and conserve for future generations, or to let it crumble gracefully and be lost forever. I would prefer to see it restored but for the public and not sold for private use as that limits the number of people who will be able to see it. Getting the funding for that is probably a lot harder than for the private sector. I think I need one of those magic money wands.
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SacoHarry
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Hey, if you stumble upon one of those magic money wands, don't forget your bestest buddy Harry :lol:

I'm indeed signed up for next year, 29 June - 10 July. I'm hoping to convince Sam to come over with Ruby and make it our first Johnson family European excursion. But at any rate, I'll be over come hell or high water.

Hope the French countryside is treating you guys well. Looks like "Sarko l'Americain" is doing quite the job of stirring things up over there. Yay strikes & worker rebellions. Vive la revolution!

- H
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brypop
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Hi Harry it will be good to meet you as I will be there at the same time as you. I have my fingers crossed for the weather, which may make it hard stuffing the turkey!
Bryan :D
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Kate 13
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Snap Harry - 29th June to 10th July are my dates too. Looking forward to seeing you again (We met in 2005 season!), especially if you bring the whole family.

On the Slains Castle subject - if it is developed, I hope that some of the apartments will be holiday lets - what a place to stay!!! I'm rather in favour of bringing old buildings back to life and letting people experience them again, albeit in a very different way to what they once were. I just hope that any development is sensitive to the building and doesn't ruin its character forever. Must pop up there, Slains castle is not a million miles away from where I live - I'm in Dundee.

Kate. :)
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Andy
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Slains Castle-

I love the place as well, my sister and her family live north of Aberdeen so I have been there quite often. I like the idea of it being developed than slipping into the sea or crumbling away to nothing. So what if it is a private residence or a golf hotel for Donald Trump ? :-) Envy is a terrible thing and I don’t begrudge someone with the cash who is prepared to take on Hysterical Scotland (read Historical) to sort it out. Let’s be honest here, Slains is a big project, and the ruins are getting dangerous, in more ways than one. Try to get planning permission for starters, then a SMC for any work, then add a county archaeologist in, add specialist conservator contractors for the work and a huge health and safety brief = hell. Whoever fixes Slains will have to bleed for it, and I can't begrudge a person for that.

However, I must confess to having a more continental view of such things than is traditional back at home in Britain, where the prevailing tradition is to let our historical buildings rot until they need demolition or are infested with bats rather than allow someone to fix them up and live in them. I see castles in Spain and France that are living breathing spaces, and I feel no less inspired by them because they have a roof on, and they tend to be somewhere I can get a good supper.

Just a shame that I suspect that non of us on this blog has the cash to do it ourselves :-)

best

Andrew

P.S. anyone for putting the roof back on at Vindolanda fort? We could rent out the towers as flats. . . .
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SacoHarry
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Wow, neat to see the place stirs up thoughts across the spectrum! I come down in the middle. There's something so amazing about an untouched ruin, the mystery of exploring it. But then, you're right, eventually it goes away forever. So there's also something about a beautiful old building that gets a new lease on life every generation or so. Anyway, Kate and all, I highly recommend a trip to check it out pre-renovation.

And it'll be great to see you again in '08 Kate, and to meet you Bryan. Good luck with the turkey. :lol:

- H
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