Welcome
to......
SCOTLAND'S
SOURCE
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With over 1200 castles
sites in Scotland, please choose a letter to help find a castle by
name:-
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X
Y Z
or by area:-
Select an
Area of Scotland
for a list of Castles, etc.
ABERDEEN
: ARGYLL
& BUTE: AYR
:
BERWICK,
PEEBLES,
ROXBURGH, SELKIRK :
CAITHNESS,
SUTHERLAND,
ROSS
& CROMARTY :
CLACKMANNAN,
FIFE, KINROSS :
DUMBARTON
& STIRLING :
INVERNESS
:
NAIRN,
MORAY, BANFF :
KINGCARDINE
& ANGUS
:
LANARK
&
RENFREW
: LOTHIANS
:
ORKNEY
&
SHETLAND
: PERTH
:
WIGTOWN,
KIRKCUDBRIGHT,
DUMFRIES :
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ALL SCOTLAND'S
CASTLES,
TOWERS
& FORTIFED HOUSES.
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The
most visited castle in Scotland is
EDINBURGH CASTLE,
however, Scotland has a rich variety of
castles, towers,
and fortified houses which were built between
1150 and the end of the 17th century, as the Middle Ages, or
Medieval Times, drew to a close.
Before 1150, defensive structures in Scotland were built by "dry-stone"
methods, such as used in building BROCHS
&
HILL FORTS.
The technique of building with stone and lime was introduced
into
Scotland no earlier than the 12th century. so therefore many of
the castles
referred to on this website date from this time or later,
although many are on sites previously occupied
by earlier structures. For example, Edinburgh Castle is thought to have
been
proceded by Iron Age fortifications.
The exact number of castles, and like structures, in Scotland
alone, probably exceeds 1200. Some sites of medieval castles are
perhaps a mere jumble of
stone,
as in the case of Roxburgh Castle, or perhaps a picuresque ruin,
abandoned by their last owners, for a variety of reasons.
Others have survived medieval times, and are still occupied,
often by their orginal family line. The history of medieval castles in
Scotland is very much tied up with
the families who were of influence at the time, and with the Royality
of Scotland.
After James V1 th of Scotland travelled south to London to claim the
throne of England in 1603, and especially after the Jacobite Rebellion
was crushed in 1746,
the occupants of many of the castles
either
travelled south to where the royal court was, or were on the
losing side of the rebellion, and foreited their lands and castles.
The result was that many castles were abandoned, or reduced to ruins.
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EDINBURGH CASTLE
View Edinburgh Castle
in a larger map
Glossary of
Castle Terms
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