IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Castlehill Road, DUMBARTON, G82 5AJ

This is the eastern end of Hawthornhill Road; the junction with Castlehill Road is not far ahead (just beyond the two cars). The houses in the right-hand half of the image are on the latter road. For a view in the opposite direction along the same part of the road, see Image For other sections, see Image and Image

They are shown from the other side of Castlehill Road. Right of centre, against the wall, is a piece of metalwork, shown in detail in Image; it features carved dragons. Although the name of the takeaway also contains the word "Dragon", I am told that the metalwork itself is earlier, and was present when the premises were called "The Keep" (which is the name that is obscured by the bus stop sign). [Update: By mid-2022, the outside of the building looked very different, and, amongst other changes, the metalwork had been removed.]

[Update: by mid-2022, the outside of the building had been redecorated, and this metalwork had been removed. Among the new decor was a "No Horses to be Left Untied" sign beside the saloon door.] See Image for context. The setting is the west side of Castlehill Road, in front of a building that had been occupied for several decades by a Chinese takeaway with "Dragon" in its name; note the dragons in the lower half of the picture. The Latin motto at the top of the ironwork is "Virtute Tutus" ("by virtue secure" or equivalent).

Bar on Castlehill Road. A sign outside the entrance to the Saloon bar reads: NO HORSES TO BE LEFT UNTIED Next door is the New Dragon Inn - a Chinese and Thai takeaway.

This part of Dumbarton is called Castlehill. The photograph was taken at the junction with Image For details of the Castle Hill after which the area is named, see Image

The enterprise centre has various units available for rental. It is a former school annex which was converted to commercial use about 1994.

From the east, at the junction with Castlehill Road.

See Image for the opposite view, down the slope. Someone pointed out to me in a conversation about half an hour later that there is a causeway-like path down this side (which is what my picture was intended to capture). See the comments at https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Mains-of-Cardross-and-Castle-Hill#castle-hill for further discussion; in brief, there is no physical evidence that there was ever a building on this knoll, but the presence of what looks like a path on this side had been noted about a century ago.

The Castlehill area of Dumbarton is named after this hill, which is located at the north-eastern corner of the Image For further details, and for the history that was associated (by tradition) with Castle Hill, see Image, which was taken about three weeks earlier.

This knoll, located at the north-eastern corner of the Image, has many rock outcrops on its sides. It used to be thought (mainly on account of its name) that the hill had been the residence of King Robert the Bruce in his later years. That traditional association is no longer in favour, but it does explain the presence of Image nearby. Castle Hill gives the Castlehill area of Dumbarton its name. I took another photograph from much the same spot, less than a month later; on that occasion the hill looked considerably less bleak: Image A similar knoll not far to the west is called Image; again, see Image The name Castle Hill is an old one: a charter made in 1542 grants to Archibald Campbell, master of the King's wine-cellar, the "terras de Kirktoun de Cardros, Dalmowok, Weltoun et molendinum earundem, terras de Castelhill, Hole, et Hawthornehill, vic. Dunbertane", etc.; that is, the lands of Kirkton of Cardross, Dalmoak, Walton, and their mill, the lands of Hole and Hawthornhill in the Shire (Sheriffdom) of Dumbarton [charter #2630 in RMS Vol. 2]. "Kirkton": near Image, the ancient Cardross Parish church, in what is now Levengrove Park. "Dalmoak", "Walton", "Hawthornhill": these names (all originally of farms; see Image) are still in use, and they can be found on the map. "Hole" (sometimes "Hoill"): for Easter or Foul Hole, sometimes called Hoill of Cardross, see Image; Wester Hole was near Ardoch, and was sometimes called Hoill of Ardoch.