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Castles in Scotland

There are thought to have been over 3000 castles, towers and fortified houses in Scotland – some have been restored, some are in ruins, some have been incorporated into later buildings, and some don’t exist at all any more.

There are currently 2969 castles in the Stravaiging around Scotland castles database, but the plan is to eventually add all of the castles over time.

Edinburgh Castle, Midlothian

Edinburgh Castle, Midlothian

You can see the distribution of castles on the map below, and you can zoom in to find particular castles.

Clicking on a marker will reveal the name of the castle and a link to a page about it.

Click here to view the castles as an alphabetical list, or here to see them divided by county.

Search for castles

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Mottes in Scotland

Many of the earliest castles in Scotland were built on mottes, raised earthen mounds designed to elevate the castle for defence and increased visibility. See the distribution of mottes across Scotland and explore what remains of these early castle sites.

Stay in a Scottish castle

What could be more Scottish than staying in a castle? Some of Scotland’s many castles have been converted into hotels or contain self-catering apartments, while others offer bed and breakfast rooms or can be rented for exclusive use.

Castle glossary

There are many specialist and obscure words used to describe castles and their constituent parts.

To help you negotiate your way through castle descriptions we’ve put together a glossary of terms with explanations for each.

Castles we’ve visited

We have visited 437 out of 2969 castles in the Stravaiging around Scotland castles database, so we still have 2532 castles to visit!

Join us on our journey around Scotland and see what we’ve visited.

Recently updated castles

Brockloch Castle (site of)
Sauchrie Castle (site of)
Garryhorn (site of)
Craigskean (site of)
Beoch (site of)
Torthorwald Castle
Isle Tower
Craigs (site of)
Greenlea (possible) (site of)
Knockdon Castle (site of)
Ardclach Bell Tower
Kildrummy Castle

Recently added castles

Brockloch Castle (site of)
Sauchrie Castle (site of)
Garryhorn (site of)
Craigskean (site of)
Beoch (site of)
Greenlea (possible) (site of)
Cantray Dallas (site of)
Grahame’s Walls (possible) (site of)
Ardvorlich House
Cleghorn Castle (site of)
Pulrossie (site of)
Touchadam (possible) (site of)

Featured castles

Edinburgh Castle
Stirling Castle
Urquhart Castle
Bothwell Castle
Crookston Castle
Glenrusco (site of)
Keir House
Pirn Castle (site of)
Garleton Castle
Castle Lennox (site of)
Manor Castle
Kinloch House (possible)
stay in a castle

Castle blog posts

The three castles of Tolibothwell
7th of April 2020 •
A dreich day of Dumfriesshire castles
13th of March 2019 •
Tweed Valley walks and Elibank Castle
30th of April 2018 •
Red squirrels at Eskrigg Reserve (and some castles)
6th of April 2018 •
Old and new Comiston Houses
29th of March 2016 •
Cycling along Silverknowes Esplanade in Edinburgh
5th of April 2015 •
Birnam Hill and Rohallion Castle
21st of June 2014 •
Castle Menzies and the Old Kirk of Weem
17th of May 2014 •
Culcreuch Castle Hotel and classic cars
27th of April 2014 •
more castles blog posts....

Castles by county

Aberdeenshire

214 castles

Angus

131 castles

Argyll

92 castles

Ayrshire

197 castles

Banffshire

61 castles

Berwickshire

128 castles

Bute

10 castles

Caithness

31 castles

Clackmannanshire

10 castles

Dumfriesshire

219 castles

Dunbartonshire

42 castles

East Lothian

92 castles

Fife

171 castles

Inverness-shire

68 castles

Kincardineshire

57 castles

Kinross-shire

8 castles

Kirkcudbrightshire

95 castles

Lanarkshire

167 castles

Midlothian

156 castles

Morayshire

46 castles

Nairnshire

15 castles

Orkney

22 castles

Peeblesshire

113 castles

Perthshire

214 castles

Renfrewshire

77 castles

Ross and Cromarty

52 castles

Roxburghshire

191 castles

Selkirkshire

44 castles

Shetland

3 castles

Stirlingshire

85 castles

Sutherland

26 castles

West Lothian

45 castles

Wigtownshire

83 castles

Related pages

A grey walk in North Berwick
A grey walk in North Berwick
A quick tour of Perthshire
A quick tour of Perthshire
Wet and windswept antiquities in Berwickshire
Wet and windswept antiquities in Berwickshire
Cairns Castle and Harperrig Reservoir
Cairns Castle and Harperrig Reservoir
Lochend Park and castle in Edinburgh
Lochend Park and castle in Edinburgh
Dunipace Castle and the Hills of Dunipace
Dunipace Castle and the Hills of Dunipace
Published on the 27th of April 2014 at 10:03 pm. Updated on the 2nd of May 2016 at 6:25 pm.

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About

Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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