Dumfries and Galloway - Castles

This triangular moated castle stands on the northern edge of the Solway Firth, beside the River Nith. For over 4 centuries Caerlaverock was home to the powerful Maxwell family and defended the south western approach to Scotland. It was besieged, captured, recaptured, won and lost again and again in the endless border conflicts between the English and Scots.
Glencaple, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG1 4RU

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Heritage Highlight: Unusual triangular design

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Cardoness Castle is a striking six-storey tower house dating to the 15th century. It stands beside the busy A75, seemingly immune to the traffic scurrying by below its hillside perch, looking south over Fleet Bay and Solway Firth. The castle was built by the McCulloch family and is a wonderful example of the type of tower house so favoured by nobility throughout Scotland at this period.
Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG7 2EH

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Carsluith Castle stands just off the busy A75 just south of Creetown. This L-shaped tower house dates to the 16th century and, though roofless, is in a very good state of preservation. The original tower house at Carsluith was built in the 15th century as a simple rectangular structure, probably by James Lindsay, Chamberlain of Galloway. When James Lindsay's son Herbert was killed at Flodden in 1513, the castle passed by marriage to Richard Brown.
Carsluith, A75, Creetown, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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Druchtag Motte, sometimes called Druchtag Motehill or the Mote of Druchtag, is a classic example of a Norman motte, or castle mound. The conical motte, 6.5m (21 feet) high, still shows traces of stone structures.
Mochrum, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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Drumcoltran Tower is a good example of a 16th-century tower house of a type typical in Scotland. The tower stands in a farmyard setting and was for many years used as a farm store. The building is made up of a rectangular block with a staircase wing projecting to one side. The main block is 34' x 26'8", and the staircase wing measures only 15'3" x 8'4".
Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG2 8LF

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Dunskey Castle is a ruined 16th-century L-plan tower house on the site of a 14th-century castle. The castle stands in a marvellous position on the head of a rocky promontory about a mile south of Portpatrick. It was probably built by the Adair family, who also built St John's Castle in Stranraer.
Portpatrick, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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Kenmure Castle is a ruined 17th-century fortified house, later transformed into a Victorian mansion, on the site of a medieval castle where King John Balliol is said to have been born. The castle was burned by opponents of Mary, Queen of Scots and later by troops under Oliver Cromwell.
Strathken, New Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG7 3RX

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Heritage Highlight: Possible birthplace of John Balliol

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A late 13th-century castle built by Edward I, on a site near a motte raised by the Bruce family around 1160. Lochmaben is supposedly the birthplace of Robert the Bruce in 1274, though Turnberry Castle has perhaps a better claim.
B7020, Lochmaben, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: Is Lochmaben the birthplace of Robert the Bruce?

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MacLellan's Castle is a castellated town house, complete except for its roof, built in 1570's on the site of the medieval Greyfriars convent. The castle stands at the top of the main street in Kirkcudbright and is sometimes called Kirkcudbright Castle.
Castle Bank, Kirkudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG6 4JD

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A wonderfully atmospheric ruined castle dating back to the 13th century on a headland overlooking Morton Loch. The first fortress here was said to have been built in the 12th century by Dunegal, the Lord of Nithsdale.
Carronbridge, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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