Under a cloud

I have  previously blipped our village castle at Knockhall, the home of the Lairds of Udny. Knockhall was severely damaged by a fire in 1734 but luckily the Laird had a spare castle just a few miles away at Udny Green.

Udny Castle is a five-storey harled rectangular tower house, surrounded by parkland. The castle was constructed in the 15th century, with walls some 2.5m (8 feet) in thickness. It was probably not the first structure on the site, because King David II had given lands here to Ronald of Uldney in the 14th century. The tower house had been heightened in the 17th century when bartizans at each corner and a parapet above water-spouts, was added on two sides only.

Today, Udny Castle was under a blanket of Mammatus clouds. The name mammatus is derived from the Latin mamma meaning "breast".