Dumbarton Castle (20miles 30minutes by car)

Dumbarton Castle is easy to find, just head for Dunbarton and when you reach Dunbarton watch for the sign just after the railway bridge. There is parking at the gates.

You first see the rock poking above the buildings and trees. It looks a bit like Edinburgh castle at a first glance but then you see that there are not as many stone walls. When you get there and look up all you can see is this a huge rock face and the gates to the visitor center. On the first level, which is called: "King Georges Battery", you can see the big heavy cannons and then go in to the visitor center (the old govenors house). There you buy your tickets and go into the small museum. There were some stones (that interested my dad) and a few other things but the best thing was an old red-coat jacket and the weapons.

There are a lot of steps to climb up if you want to get to the top (we counted 320!). There is a guard house which has a model of the rock and the surrounding area and a couple of other things to stop at on the way up if you get tired. When you get to the highest peak, "White Tower Crag", there are wonderful views over the Clyde and the remains of a circular building which may have been an 18th century windmill. On the other peak which is named "The Beak" there is a powder magazine and a sheer cliff which you can look down the thousands of centimeters to your car. There is a small but muddy beach nearby but the beach the other side of the river Leven is much better. (Article by Alexander)