Castles of Scotland: Every One We Have Visited

Castles of Scotland: Every One We’ve Visited

The dramatic clifftop ruins of Castle Sinclair Girnigoe on the Caithness coast at sunset.
Castle Sinclair Girnigoe on the Caithness cliffs — one of dozens of castles and strongholds we’ve stood in the ruins of on our travels.

The castles we’ve actually stood in

Scotland has well over a thousand castles — from mighty royal fortresses to lonely clifftop ruins with the sea booming below. We’re not going to pretend we’ve seen them all. This is a castles hub of the ones we’ve actually visited on our travels — each one marked ✅ Visited, with a note on who runs it (and whether it’s free or ticketed), and a link to our full page for that place. Where a castle belongs to a clan, we link that too — because a castle without its family is just a pile of stones.

It grows as we travel. Together with the Lochs and the Clans, it’s the third way into the story of the places on this site.

⛰️ Argyll & the West

  • Kilchurn Castle ✅ — the great Campbell ruin at the head of Loch Awe. Historic Environment Scotland; free (interior open summer).
  • Inveraray Castle ✅ — the fairytale seat of the Dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell. Privately owned; ticketed.
  • Castle Campbell ✅ — the Campbells’ dramatic Lowland stronghold above Dollar Glen (once “Castle Gloom”). National Trust for Scotland / HES; ticketed.
  • Skipness Castle ✅ — one of Scotland’s oldest castles, on the Kintyre coast. Historic Environment Scotland; free.
  • Tarbert Castle ✅ — Robert the Bruce’s royal castle above Tarbert harbour. Community-run; free.
  • Dunaverty Castle ✅ — the “Blood Rock” at Southend, a MacDonald stronghold and the site of the 1647 massacre. Ruin on an open headland; free.
Kilchurn Castle rising from the reeds at the head of Loch Awe.
Kilchurn — the postcard castle of the west, and pure Campbell.

🧭 Caithness & the Far North

  • Castle Sinclair Girnigoe ✅ — the spectacular clifftop seat of the Sinclairs, Earls of Caithness. Clan Sinclair Trust; free, open access.
  • Keiss Castle ✅ — the older Sinclair tower on the cliffs above Sinclair’s Bay. Private ruin; view from the coast path.

🏰 Central Scotland & the Forth Valley

  • Stirling Castle ✅ — the great royal fortress of the Stewart kings, on its volcanic rock. Historic Environment Scotland; ticketed.
  • Linlithgow Palace ✅ — the Stewart palace by the loch, birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. Historic Environment Scotland; ticketed.
  • Loch Leven Castle — the island prison where Mary, Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate before her famous escape by boat. Historic Environment Scotland; ferry from Kinross, summer only — so far seen from the shore.
  • Dunfermline Palace & Abbey ✅ — burial place of Robert the Bruce, and a royal palace. Historic Environment Scotland; abbey free, palace ticketed.
  • Alloa Tower ✅ — the great keep of the Erskines, Earls of Mar. National Trust for Scotland; seasonal/ticketed.
  • Cambuskenneth Abbey ✅ — the abbey by the Forth where James III lies buried. Historic Environment Scotland; free.
  • Finlarig Castle ✅ — the Breadalbane Campbell ruin (with its grim beheading pit) at Killin. Ruin; open access, care needed.
  • Balloch Castle ✅ — the 19th-century castle in its country park on Loch Lomond. Public country park; grounds free (castle not open inside).
Stirling Castle standing high on its volcanic rock above the town.
Stirling Castle — the fortress that controlled the road to the Highlands.
Castle Campbell above Dollar Glen, an old tree against the ruined keep
Castle Campbell — the Campbells’ Lowland stronghold above Dollar, once “Castle Gloom.”

🌊 East Lothian & Fife

  • Tantallon Castle ✅ — the mighty red-cliff curtain wall of the Douglases, facing the Bass Rock. Historic Environment Scotland; ticketed.
  • Aberdour Castle ✅ — one of Scotland’s oldest stone castles, with a lovely walled garden. Historic Environment Scotland; ticketed.
  • Dirleton Castle ✅ — the romantic ruin and famous gardens near Yellowcraig. Historic Environment Scotland; ticketed.
  • St Andrews Castle ✅ — the bishops’ clifftop castle with its notorious bottle dungeon and a siege mine you can crawl through, in the Home of Golf. Historic Environment Scotland; ticketed.
  • Dunbar Castle — the shattered red ruin above the harbour where Black Agnes defied the English in 1338. Ruin; seen from the harbour (too dangerous to enter).

The other two pillars

This hub grows with every trip. More castles — and their histories — on the way.

Sources