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Drumlanrig Castle is on the Queensberry
Estate in southern Scotland, 19 miles north of
Dumfries off the A76 road, 4 miles
north of the village of Thornhill,
built from the 1680s for William Douglas.
The castle grounds are open all year round
for visits with a small entry fee. Tours of the
castle can be booked all year round for
parties. Individual visits to the castle are
available certain times in the year, view the
website for dates. Postcode: DG3 4AQ
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Drumlanrig is popular for its tours of the
castle, art collection, cafe, shop, scenic
gardens and estate walking, biking with bike
hire available, vintage bike collection, kids
play, fishing, shooting, and Land Rover tours
into the hills.
Drumlanrig Castle was built in the 1680s for
the first Duke of Queensberry, William Douglas,
of the mighty Douglas Clan.
The present owners are the Duke and Duchess
of Buccleuch and Queensberry.
The castle holds part of the Buccleuch art
collection, with Rembrandt’s An Old Woman
Reading and Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna of the
Yarnwinder being worth £millions.
Madonna of the
Yarnwinder was stolen in 2003. This 1500s
painting had been bought in the 1700s by the
third Duke of Buccleuch.
2003 August 27th - about 11am, two men
acting as tourists took the £30 million
masterpiece from a wall in Drumlanrig Castle
and took off in an old Volkswagen Golf.
2007 September - John Scott, 9th Duke of
Buccleuch dies aged 84. His title and estate
passed to his son Richard Scott, 10th Duke of
Buccleuch.
2007 October, the Liverpool based private
detectives Robbie Graham and John Doyle claimed
they had found the painting in Liverpool and
set up a deal to return the painting for a
reward.
Police investigating the return of the
painting charged Graham, Doyle and the
solicitor Marshall Ronald, acting on their
behalf, with extortion.
2010 March - the trial at the High Court in
Edinburgh found Graham, Doyle and Ronald not
guilty of conspiring to extort money for the
return of the painting.
The three men cleared in court have since
claimed they are entitled to a reward, or money
agreed would have been paid for the return of
the painting. There are ongoing court cases
concerning this issue.
The theft of the painting led to it becoming
one of the most famous in the world. The
painting is now often loaned out to galleries
around the world for exhibitions.
Famous people to stay at the castle include
Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745, and the
astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1971. The Prince
Charlie bedroom is now one of the top
attractions in the castle.
The castle was used as a hospital during
WWI, and housed girls of St Denis School in
Edinburgh during WWII.
John Scott, 9th
Duke of Buccleuch 1923 - 2007 was claimed
to have been the largest landowner in the UK,
and most interesting member of the Clan. He was
often seen with Princess Margaret, leading to
rumours he was to marry the princess. The end
of the Royal romance led to the Duke marrying
the top fashion model Jane McNeill in 1953.
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