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Castles in Scotland

There were once more than 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 3021 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

(leave blank to view all)

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 507 out of 3021 castles in the Stravaiging around Scotland castles database, so we still have 2514 castles to visit!

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

Recently updated castles

Edzell Castle motte
Edzell Castle
Comlongon Castle
Mains Castle
Dingwall Castle
Carnwath House (site of)
Caisteal Dubh
Blackness Castle
Moorfoot
Hirendean Castle
Ballinshoe Tower
Thorlieshope Tower (site of)

Recently added castles

Ardlamont
Moorfoot
Milsholm Tower
Braidlie (site of)
Larriston Tower (site of)
Denmuir (possible) (site of)
Usan Tower (site of)
Southfield (site of)
Balkail (site of)
Genoch (site of)
Syde (site of)
Garryhorn (possible) (site of)

Featured castles

Edinburgh Castle
Stirling Castle
Urquhart Castle
Bothwell Castle
Strathaven Castle
Dallick House (possible) (site of)
Kirkforthar House
Old Comiston House
Callendar House
Fast Castle
Carterhope (site of)
Kirkclaugh motte
stay in a castle
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Castle blog posts

The lost tower of Rakestonleis
23rd of July 2022 •
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 •
more castles blog posts....

Castles by county

Aberdeenshire

214 castles

Angus

135 castles

Argyll

93 castles

Ayrshire

198 castles

Banffshire

61 castles

Berwickshire

128 castles

Bute

10 castles

Caithness

31 castles

Clackmannanshire

10 castles

Dumfriesshire

228 castles

Dunbartonshire

42 castles

East Lothian

92 castles

Fife

173 castles

Inverness-shire

69 castles

Kincardineshire

57 castles

Kinross-shire

8 castles

Kirkcudbrightshire

97 castles

Lanarkshire

178 castles

Midlothian

158 castles

Morayshire

48 castles

Nairnshire

16 castles

Orkney

22 castles

Peeblesshire

113 castles

Perthshire

215 castles

Renfrewshire

77 castles

Ross and Cromarty

52 castles

Roxburghshire

195 castles

Selkirkshire

53 castles

Shetland

3 castles

Stirlingshire

85 castles

Sutherland

26 castles

West Lothian

45 castles

Wigtownshire

85 castles

Related pages

Dirleton Castle in East Lothian
Dirleton Castle in East Lothian
Garden of Cosmic Speculation plus castles
Garden of Cosmic Speculation plus castles
Inveraray Castle and standing stone
Inveraray Castle and standing stone
A doocot, a castle and a beach in East Lothian
A doocot, a castle and a beach in East Lothian
A pair of castles on the River Tweed
A pair of castles on the River Tweed
Dunbar harbour and castle
Dunbar harbour and castle
Published on the 17th of May 2014 at 10:03 pm. Updated on the 21st of July 2014 at 11:10 am.

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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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