Castle Toward, Argyll - Photo ©
William Craig, 9 November 2005
Castle Toward, Argyll - Photo ©
William Craig, 9 November 2005
Castle Toward is an outdoor education facility, based in a nineteenth century country house on the southern tip of the Cowal peninsula in Argyll, Scotland.
The original Toward Castle dates from the 15th century. Now ruined, it was owned by the Clan Lamont until 1809. The ruins lie around 500 metres (1,600 ft) south-east of the later building.
The present Castle Toward was built in 1820 by Kirkman Finlay, former Lord Provost of Glasgow, as his family's country house. Later owned and extended by the Coats family of Paisley, the house is a castellated mansion, with Italian plasterwork installed in the public rooms in 1920. The grounds incorporate the ruins of the sixteenth century Toward Castle, the Chinese ponds, wooded areas, access to the shore, and views over the Firth of Clyde.
During the Second World War the castle was used as a combined operations centre (COC No. 2), HMS Brontosaurus.
The castle, and 226 acres (0.91 km2) of woodland, were purchased by the Corporation of Glasgow in the 1940s. The building was used initially as a residential school for children recovering from illness or living in deprived home conditions. It then became available for residential education for children from all Glasgow Primary Schools and operated for 50 years as an outdoor education centre, being used by up to 4000 children from Glasgow and Renfrewshire.
With the reorganisation of local government in Scotland in 1996, ownership passed to Argyll and Bute Council and such centres were threatened with closure. A rescue operation was mounted by Castle Toward’s then principal, Peter Wilson, and a company, Actual Reality was formed, which kept the castle in use as an outward bound centre, along with the council-owned centre at Ardentinny.There have been several attempts by the council to sell the estate, but all have met with fierce opposition.
Toward Castle is now a residential training centre operated by Actual Reality. Outdoor education activities include high ropes, kayaking, and orienteering, as well as gorge walks and hill walks. For younger children there are wide games, amongst other outdoor games. Its long history has led to a multitude of ghost stories, much perpetuated by the young people who visit.
The grounds of the outdoor education centre were used as a location for the children's BBC Television series Raven, featuring the actor James MacKenzie, up to and including the seventh series at the start of 2008.
As well as outdoor education, the house is also used for residential courses for young people in music and art. The Glasgow Schools' Symphony Orchestra and West of Scotland Schools' Concert Band visit regularly. The castle's composer-in-residence is John Maxwell Geddes, who wrote a Postlude for Strings in protest at plans to sell the castle.
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