313 



FIELD MEETINGS. 



17th June, 1911. 



CARDONESS. 



(From the Dumfries and Galloway Courier and Herald and the 

 Dumfries and Galloway Standard, June 21, 1911.) 



The limited number of members who took part in this outing 

 was doubtless due to the unpromising nature of the morning. 

 The party met at Dumfries railway station, whence they left by 

 the 8.30 train for Dromore. At Dromore a char-a-banc was in 

 waiting, and the journey to Gatehouse was began. The rain 

 happily ceased. For the first mile or two the eye is arrested 

 by the barren grandeur of the hills and moors. Here the naked 

 rock is seen, sometimes in rugged escarpments where in 1902 

 returned to nest the golden eagle. It was notable that the 

 heather has almost disappeared, giving place to grass, save for 

 patches of bracken, and of course the abundant growth of the 

 bog myrtle, the aroma of which was dispensed with a grateful 

 prodigality. A halt was made to inspect Rusko Castle, which 

 occupies a site overlooking the valley of the Fleet. The major 

 portion of the members wended their way to the castle, an object 

 of much interest. Architecturally the castle is in the main a 

 replica of Cardoness Castle, though of subsequent date. The 

 building is in a good state of preservation, the floors of the 

 upper apartments remaining, although in some parts they have 

 to be trod with some concern for the safety of the visitors. The 

 original features of the Castle are still distinctly recognisable, 

 though it has not been occupied for some years. The upper 

 apartments, once the scene of activities and incidents which the 

 least imaginative can easily conjure up, are now tenanted by 

 flocks of pigeons and wild birds. The rooms of the ground floors 

 were filled by nothing more appealing to the fancy of the anti- 



