Tourists pay the price because they forget the closing time of the attraction

The scenery around the ancient castle in Scotland is as beautiful as what American tourist Niki Ghofranian always dreamed of. Surrounding her are stone walls about 18 meters high, as far as the eye can see are hills, lakes and pristine islands.

However, this experience turns sour when Niki and her sister Ritta get trapped. Because they were busy visiting the ruins and left late, two female tourists saw that the gate from the 14th century was locked with a large padlock.

The incident happened on June 5, 2019, during a vacation to celebrate Niki’s 55th birthday and Ritta’s 66th birthday. The two sisters chose Scotland as their destination because this is their mother’s homeland, where there are towering mountains and famous ancient castles.

They arrived at the western town of Oban, eager to explore Dunstaffnage Castle, once the stronghold of the MacDougal family. In the 18th century, Scottish lady Flora MacDonald was imprisoned at the castle for helping Prince Bonnie Prince Charlie escape. Today, the place still stands out with its massive stone walls, crumbling watchtowers and vast views of the water.

“Beautiful ruins,” Niki said.

The sisters arrived by taxi mid-afternoon, going to the visitor center to buy tickets. The castle closed at 6:00 p.m. It was only 4:00 p.m. so the two tourists thought they had enough time. Entering the campus, Niki and Ritta were truly overwhelmed. History is present on each rock surface, making them passionate about exploring. Time seemed to stop. The two sisters almost had the castle to themselves.

After a while, they separated, Ritta went outside the wall to take pictures of the outside, and Niki climbed the high ramparts. She stood there, looking down at the rippling water and the hills. There was no one around, no sounds other than the wind and the lapping water in the lake.

“It’s very peaceful and beautiful,” Niki said.

Niki exhaled, enjoying the silence. Then suddenly, the silence was broken when Ritta screamed. They discovered that the castle gate was locked with a sturdy system. In the US, when time runs out, tourists will usually hear a loudspeaker announcement to leave. But in Scotland, everything is as simple as when the clock runs out and the gate is locked. The two sisters came to visit in the summer, the days are long and the nights are short, so the sky was still bright when they visited. Therefore, the two sisters did not realize that they were late and were locked inside.

Niki quickly pulled out her phone to contact her, but the battery was 15% left and no one brought a charger. Ritta didn’t even bring her phone. Therefore, they were forced to walk around to find a way out.

While walking, Niki went to Google to find the phone number of the Oban police station and called for help. But the people on the end of the line didn’t even understand what Niki was saying, asking her to spell out the name of the castle so they could verify where the two tourists were trapped.

“Dunstaffnage is not an easy word to pronounce or spell, whether American or Scottish,” Niki recalls.

Next, Niki texted her partner, Martha, thousands of kilometers away, asking for support. The phone battery began to drain quickly, the two sisters prepared themselves for a night stuck in the castle with a few chocolates in their stomachs. They had coats and sweaters, but it was difficult to cope with the cold at night because most of the castle had no roof except for a small room near the gate.

Even though they were stuck, the two sisters did not panic because they determined that the experience was part of the adventure. While climbing towards the high city walls, Niki saw a child running out of the nearby forest.

“Go call your mother and tell her that we are locked in the castle,” Niki shouted so that the child could hear her, although in her heart she had little hope for this help. But a few minutes later, the child returned with a woman whom Niki guessed was her mother. The woman spoke up to reassure Niki and promised to call the castle management. Then she took the phone and walked towards the forest.

Niki went down to the gate area and told her sister the story and they sat and waited together. So much time passed that the two sisters began to gradually lose hope. At that moment, they heard sirens and people calling loudly. Flashing lights appeared, police cars rushed in. A few minutes later, firefighters arrived and brought long ladders.

Firefighters gathered. Ritta described the gate’s internal hinge system for police to assess the situation from the outside. Then, they instructed Ritta to move the locking pins inside while they used force to push from the outside.

With the support of the authorities, the gate opened. The two sisters were taken out and breathed a sigh of relief.

“The feeling of freedom is amazing,” Niki said. And Ritta admitted “a bit of shame, guilt and humiliation” for bothering others. However, the firefighters and police both felt this was funny and everyone laughed.

Rod Campbell, monument manager at Dunstaffnage Castle, said rescuers did not cause any damage to the castle. They just separate the two doors for visitors to exit. Then the castle manager was called in to lock the gate. “Oh my god, this is the most interesting thing we’ve seen that day,” an officer told Niki.

Campbell said that every night when closing, staff will go around the castle, locking the door and shaking the key chain to signal visitors because this place does not have a bell or speaker system. After the incident of two tourists, the management reminded all staff so that the incident would not happen again.

Before leaving, the two sisters also took commemorative photos with firefighters in front of the castle gate. After that, Niki and Ritta were taken back to their residence by police car.

Almost a week later, while they were in Dublin on the next leg of their holiday, the sisters discovered their story had appeared in Scottish newspapers. When interviewed by local reporters, they were “both curious and confused and embarrassed” because they became famous reluctantly.

Upon returning to America, Niki also framed a Scottish newspaper article, where the story of the sisters’ “trapped adventure” appeared on the same page as a photo of Prince William.

Niki and Ritta continue to enjoy the joy of travel, but now they pay special attention to closing times.

“I learned a big lesson,” Niki said.

Ritta even bought a watch, programmed to remind her when to leave a location because she didn’t want to bother anyone like the time she got stuck in Scotland. “Remember closing time and get out of the building before then,” Niki added.

That experience made Scotland a trip the sisters will never forget. Ritta even wanted to come back. Even though 7 years have passed, the two American tourists still remember everything about their trip that year “as clearly as it was yesterday”.

“Up to now, every time I travel, someone reminds me: be careful, don’t get locked in the castle again,” Niki said.