The Gooseberry Bush of Kilravlock Castle

There is said to be a curse on Kilravock Castle and the Chiefs of Clan Rose. It was told that if a gooseberry bush that grew at the top of their main tower died, so too would the male line. It is not clear why there was a bush on their roof in the first place. Maybe it was wind-seeded; maybe a gardener was going for a Babylonian look. In the late 1980s, the bush started to wither. The owner, Elizabeth Rose... made numerous frantic attempts to get a cutting from the original to take root, but it failed each time. Replacement with a brand-new gooseberry bush was apparently not valid in the small print of the curse. The bush died, the male line died soon after, and Kilravock became a Christian youth hostel.


Bisset than Rose -- Kilravock Castle is believed to be built over the site of an ancient Christian church near the River Nairn. An early keep dates to the 15th century. The castle was expanded in the 16th century, with the keep being extended and fortified in the 17th century. Further construction occurred in 1730.

"The old Tower of Kilravock, in its picturesque situation,
remains as beautiful as it was when the Poet Burns visited
and described it. The " gooseberry bush " on the very top
of the tower — the traditional emblem of the family's
prosperity — still sends forth fresh buds at the touch of spring.
The rooms of the old Castle are kept intact, and the family
relics and writs, of which there is great wealth, are preserved
as a sacred inheritance. With the single exception of
Elizabeth Eose's succession, the estates have descended in an
unbroken line from the first Baron in the thirteenth century
to the present Laird of Kilravock, who is the twenty-third
in succession — a geneaology perhaps unique in Scotland.
Kilravock is Chief of the Eoses. "

The old Tower of Kilravock, in its picturesque situation,
remains as beautiful as it was when the Poet Burns visited
and described it. The " gooseberry bush " on the very top
of the tower the traditional emblem of the family's
prosperity still sends forth fresh buds at the touch of spring.
The rooms of the old Castle are kept intact, and the family
relics and writs, of which there is great wealth, are preserved
as a sacred inheritance. With the single exception of
Elizabeth Eose's succession, the estates have descended in an
unbroken line from the first Baron in the thirteenth century
to the present Laird of Kilravock, who is the twenty-third
in succession a geneaology perhaps unique in Scotland.
Kilravock is Chief of the Eoses. iL