Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Caerlaverock Castle (Mitchell)

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Caerlaverock Castle (Mitchell) A forty bar Strathspey for three couples in a three couple longwise set, devised by John W Mitchell, Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances, book 10, 1981.

1- 8 First and second couples dance rights and lefts. First man and second lady finish facing out.
9-16 First, second and third couples dance reels of three on own side of the set, to commence second and third couples pass by the right shoulder; at the end of the reel second and third couples continue passing right shoulder to finish in a line across the dance with second man and third lady back to back in the centre.
17-24 Reel of four across the set, to commence second and third ladies pass by the right shoulder, second and third men also pass by the right; finish with second couple in third place and third couple in second place.
25-32 First, third and second couples dance six hands round in a circle to the left and back to the right.
33-40 First, third and second couples dance a tournée for three couples*.
Repeat with new top couple.

(Dance crib compiled by Alison Mitchell, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, 2022)


Dance Notes

* Tournée for three couples

1 All three couples advance to form a line up and down the centre of the set, the couple at the top facing towards the men's side of the set, the couple in the middle facing the lady's side of the set and the couple at the foot facing the men's side of the set; each man has his partner on his right, all take a promenade hold with own partner.
2-5 Half a reel of three, with promenade hold up and down the centre of the set to commence the top two couples pass by the left.
6-8 Releasing the promenade hold all face own side of the set and turn partner one and a quarter times with the nearer hand to own side. Top couple turn with the right hand, middle couple turn with the left hand and the bottom couple turn with the right hand; the turns are phrased so that the ladies or men turn shoulder to shoulder each time they pass through the centre line of the set.

(Dance notes compiled by Alison Mitchell, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, 2022)


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Instruction Videos

Caerlaverock Castle (Mitchell) - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information


Recommended tune: Caerlaverock Castle.

(Dance information by Alison Mitchell, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, 2022)


Caerlaverock Castle, meaning "lark castle", is a special castle shaped like a triangle. It was built in the 13th century and is found on the southern coast of Scotland, about 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) south of Dumfries. The castle is right on the edge of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. It's the only castle in the country that has a triangular shape.

Caerlaverock Castle belonged to the Maxwell family from the 13th to the 17th century when they left the castle. It faced attacks from the English during the Wars of Scottish Independence and went through various partial demolitions and rebuilds in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Presently, Historic Scotland looks after the castle, turning it into a well-visited tourist spot. It is safeguarded as a scheduled monument and holds the status of a category A listed building.

Caerlaverock Castle - Information Video


Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock Castle


Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 10, reproduced here under this Creative Commons Attribution - NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This page contains both original content, which is copyrighted, and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources using the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Text from this original Caerlaverock Castle article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Archie Cochrane under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.

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