Fife Castles - Struthers Castle Traditional Cache
Fife Castles - Struthers Castle
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A traditional cache located within the ruins of one of Fifes oldest castle. Situated 2 miles South-west of Ceres on the Craigrothie to Kennoway road and near the former main road from Edinburgh/St. Andrews was Struthers Castle. The portion of this road from nearby Struthers Castle to Ceres was known as the "waterless way".
The castle is located in a field close to farm buildings.
Part of the existing ruin has been assigned to the end of the 14th century, making this one of the oldest buildings in Fife, and there are traces of alterations made to the building during the 17th century. The castle was abandoned by its owners at the beginning of the last century. Neglect and lack of repairs, aided by the weather, soon reduced the building to a ruinous condition and today, some parts of the walls are all that remain.
In 1124, during the reign of David I, Struthers is said to have belonged to Radolphus de Ochter--Struther. It later became the property of the Keiths, Grand Marischals of Scotland, and before the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 Sir William Keith is reputed to have instructed the men of the district in the use of the Bow on the "Bow Butts" at Ceres.
In 1382, Sir William Lindsay of the Byres, son--in--law of Sir William Keith, became the proprietor of Struthers and this ownership was retained by the Lindsay and Crawford family until fairly recently.
In the 15th century, Struthers and other lands were united into the barony with the astounding title of "OUTHIROTHISTRODYR", which one historian says gave the title of Lord Struthers to the first Earl of Lindsay in 1633.
Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, the celebrated poet and author of "The Three Estates", was a distant relative of Lindsay of the Byres and spent much time at Struthers, round about 1550 and wrote some of his poems whilst there. Charles I was entertained at Struthers by Lord Lindsay in February 1651 following on his Coronation at Scone. Lord Lindsay, who held the office of Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, suffered for his hospitality and in 1653 guests of an unwelcome nature arrived. A detachment of horse and foot soldiers of Oliver Cromwell's army occupied the castle for 3 months.
There is not much left of the castle, basically one wall and a tower. There is also the ruined doocot close by which offers good internal views of the roosting boxes.
The present owners, The Stewart Family Trust, have given me permission to hide the cache on their land. Drive down the farm road where you will find that parking is available close to the castle without hindering the farm access. The cache is a small Tupperware tub full of goodies.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
haqre fgbarf arkg gb gbjre
Treasures
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