Dunmore Park House, Airth, Scotland

Unexpectedly, this past year found me visiting all but one of the countries which make up the United Kingdom (all that was missing off my list was Northern Ireland – perhaps this year!)

Granted, this trip was a bit of a flying visit being confined to the lower part of Scotland around the Falkirk area (which in itself was very scenic with loads to see in a short space of time).

Whilst wandering around looking for the Airth Pineapple I stumbled across this place, which was surrounded by trees after being abandoned for many many years.

Initially it was going to be a quick look around and on to the next place, however it turned out to be more picturesque than planned and a good few hours were spent wandering around.

A bit about the place is as follows: –

Dunmore Park is the name used to refer to the estate of the Earls of Dunmore. It is also the name most commonly used to refer to the grand mansion that George Murray, the 5th Earl of Dunmore, commissioned from the architect William Wilkins and built in the years between 1820 and 1825.

The Murray family continued to live at Dunmore Park until 1911, and it remained in use as a private home until 1961. It was then taken over by a girls’ school for a short time before being abandoned in 1964. 

In 1970 the Dunmore estate was broken up into lots and sold off.

Elphinstone Tower (or Dunmore Tower) now comprises just a ground floor room and one end of the original tower, largely lost amid a dense growth of vegetation.