Lag Tower, Dumfries & Galloway

17/01/17

"Lag belonged from the beginning of the fifteenth century to the family of Grierson, the last occupant of the house being Sir Robert Grierson of Lag, a well known enemy of the covenanters." (Ralph Terry -- Lag Tower: First Home of the Griersons)

Today's trip was a 30 minute drive stretched into 45 due to fog (and sudden braking because most drivers didn't have any lights on) and my poor little city car struggles with any gradient greater than 5%. When we finally made it to Lag Tower (formally known as Castle Lag) it wasn't quite as I expected: directly opposite is Lag House, a white farmhouse that might be being used as a B&B. The ruins are surrounded by fencing and set amongst stone-walled sheep fields. Despite not being able to approach the tower directly, and there being a lot less of the castle remaining than I had anticipated, it was a wonderful feeling to see the dwelling that had housed generations of Griersons. The fog drifting over the silent hills, barely touched by modern technology, made it seem plausible that nothing had changed from the 1400s.

Since the dogs didn't get chance to more than stretch their legs on a ten minute walk up and down the road, on the way back we pulled into a lay-by for a woodland walk. The mist was beginning to clear, but it still hovered above the trees, most of which had thin outstretched branches like the grasping fingers of a fairy tale.

One curious thing were small spiderwebs that I initially mistook for feathers: the first ones were around an intriguing burrow, but they were scattered most of the way along the bank. There was no dew to make them show up so clearly: they looked like cotton fluff or dandelion seeds rather but the texture was too firm. Does anyone know if they actually are spiderwebs, and if so, what kind of spider they belong to?

Although it was worth the drive to see the Grierson castle, the walk in the nearby woods was the real highlight. Surely lovely in summer, the mist threaded through the bare branches lent them an eerie quality that made it a singular walk.