Tag: castles
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Claypotts
Claypotts Castle is remarkably well preserved and a perfect example of a 16th-century castle in Scotland. It was never involved in any battle hence has never suffered any major damage or needed any restoration or reconstruction. It was more a dwelling for the family than a defensive structure and hence does not have the typical characteristics of a fortress. It stands near the suburb of West ...
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Caerlaverock
One of Scotland’s the most attractive and interesting castles is Caerlaverock, which was built to control the waters of Solway Firth, the southwest entrance to Scotland. The border conflicts with England gave the castle a turbulent history. Till the12th century, when it came under the Normans, the eastern Solway had alternated between English and Scottish rule.
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Broughty
Broughty Castle has stood majestically at the mouth of the river Tay since 1496. It is built on the tip of a rocky promonotory projecting into the shallow waters of the Firth of Tay, which is an attractive little town five miles east of Dundee, not far from the harbor of Broughty Ferry. The castle has stunning views across the Tay River and is only minutes away from Broughty Ferry Beach and ...
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Brodick
Off the west coast of Scotland on the Isle of Arran stands a magnificent red sandstone castle, amidst the forests at the foot of Goatfell Mountain. This is Brodick Castle, the ancient seat of the Dukes of Hamilton. The name Brodick means 'broad bay' in Norse.
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Aberdour
Aberdour Castle in Fife grew from west to east over five hundred years. The first construction dates from before 1200, when a two storey tower house was built by the de Mortimer family. Parts of this collapsed in1844 and 1919, but some ruins are visible at the western end of the castle. These parts are of one of the oldest masonry castles still standing in Scotland.
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Kilchurn
There has been a castle at Kilchurn for about 550 years, built on a small island in Loch Awe that is not much bigger than the castle itself. It was probably built by Sir Colin Campbell, first Lord of Glenorchy in about 1450, on the earlier site of a holding of McGregor of Glenstrae. Historically, the main approach to the castle from land has been from Dalmally to the east.
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Torthorwald
It looks like a huge three dimensional jigsaw puzzle with some pieces missing, leaving gaping holes in the middle. It certainly looks like it has been there like that forever; there is even grass and plants growing out of its top for good measure. Today it a mute witness to the changing world around it. Once it was an integral part of history being created. This is Torthorwald Castle in ...
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Stalker
Twenty-five miles from Oban, on the west coast of Scotland, Castle Stalker stands at the mouth of Loch Laich. It is near Loch Linnhe, on a rocky islet known as the Rock of the Cormorants. Its Gaelic name Stalcaire, means falconer or hunter and it has had a long history of violence, particularly murder of its owners, associated with it. Right from Lord of Lorn, Sir John Stewart, who built the ...
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Mains
Mains Castle, also known as Fintry Castle, was built in the mid 16th century by Sir David Graham, a nephew of the infamous Cardinal Beaton. It was located on the south side of a tributary of Dichty River known as Gelly Burn, overlooking a ravine and wooded den. The Graham family owned the castle until the early 19th Century.
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Loudoun
Loudoun Castle in Ayrshire, south-west of Glasgow, stands about a mile from Galston. It was the ancestral home of the Campbell family of Loudoun. The earliest four storey square tower with a battlement, probably built by the Craufurds, incorporated into the present ruins dates to either the 12th or 13th century. In 1601, the First Earl of Loudoun, Sir John Campbell, Chancellor of Scotland, ...
