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Castles in Scotland

Updated November 2026

Scotland has a castle around almost every bend of the road. Some are royal fortresses such as Edinburgh Castle on its volcanic rock, others are fairytale homes such as Dunrobin in the far north or Inveraray on the shore of Loch Fyne.

The most atmospheric are often the ruins and lonely tower houses: Castle Stalker on its tiny island, Kilchurn at the end of Loch Awe, and Doune Castle, which many visitors know from film and television.

PrimeMap lists 1,327 castles in Scotland. Here are some of the best known.

How to find them

In the free PrimeMap app you will find all 1,327 places from this page on the map, with descriptions, photos and directions. Open the map wherever you are and see what is nearby.

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Balmoral Castle

Photo: Stuart Yeates from Oxford, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Balmoral Castle

📍 Aberdeenshire

Balmoral Castle ( bal-MORR-əl) is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, 9 miles (14 km) west of Ballater and 50 miles (80 km) west of Aberdeen.

Edinburgh Castle

Photo: Klaus Hermsen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Edinburgh Castle

📍 City of Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Èideann) is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age.

Dunnottar Castle

Photo: Eduardo Unda from Aberdeen, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Dunnottar Castle

📍 Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope") is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the northeast coast of Scotland, about 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.

Eilean Donan

Photo: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Eilean Donan

📍 Highland

Eilean Donan (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Donnain) is a small tidal island situated at the confluence of three sea lochs (Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh) in the western Highlands of Scotland, about one kilometre (5⁄8 mi) from the village of Dornie.

Dunrobin Castle

Photo: Dunrobin_Castle_-Sutherland_-Scotland-26May2008.jpg: jack_spellingbacon derivative work: Snowmanradio (talk) · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Dunrobin Castle

📍 Highland

Dunrobin Castle is a stately home in Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland, that serves as the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland, Chief of Clan Sutherland. It is located one mile (1.5 kilometres) north of Golspie and approximately five miles (eight kilometres) south of Brora, overlooking the Dornoch Firth.

Inveraray Castle

Photo: Son of Groucho from Scotland · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Inveraray Castle

📍 Inveraray, Argyll and Bute

Inveraray Castle (pronounced IN-vər-AIR-ə or IN-vər-AIR-ee; Scottish Gaelic Caisteal Inbhir Aora [ˈkʰaʃtʲəl̪ˠ iɲɪɾʲˈɯːɾə]) is a country house near Inveraray in the county of Argyll, in western Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne, Scotland's longest sea loch. It is one of the earliest examples of Gothic Revival architecture.

Castle of Mey

Photo: Orikrin1998 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Castle of Mey

📍 Caithness

The Castle of Mey (also known for a time as Barrogill Castle) is located in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland, about 6 miles (10 km) west of John o' Groats. In fine weather there are views from the castle north to Orkney.

Doune Castle

Photo: Godot13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Doune Castle

📍 Stirling

Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling council area of central Scotland and the historic county of Perthshire. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith.

Castle Stalker

Photo: Markus Trienke · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Castle Stalker

📍 Argyll and Bute

Castle Stalker (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal an Stalcaire) is a four-storey tower house or keep in the Scottish county of Argyll. It is set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off Loch Linnhe.

Linlithgow Palace

Photo: Alex Sanz · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Linlithgow Palace

📍 Linlithgow, West Lothian

The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, 15 miles (24 km) west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Castle Tioram

Photo: Tommes · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Castle Tioram

📍 Highland

Castle Tioram (; Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Tioram, meaning "dry castle") is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Scotland. It is north of Acharacle, approximately 80 km (50 mi) west of Fort William. Though hidden from the sea, the castle controls access to Loch Shiel.

Culzean Castle

Photo: Jamesx12345 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Culzean Castle

📍 South Ayrshire

Culzean Castle ( kul-AYN, see yogh; Scots: Culzean, Culȝean, Colean) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

Skibo Castle

Photo: Christine Matthews · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Skibo Castle

📍 Highland

Skibo Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Sgìobail) is located to the west of Dornoch in the Highland county of Sutherland, Scotland overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although largely of the 19th century and early 20th century, when it was the home of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, its origins go back much earlier.

Lickleyhead Castle

Photo: Stanley Howe · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Lickleyhead Castle

📍 Aberdeenshire

Lickleyhead Castle is a well-restored L-plan castle, dating from around 1600, a kilometre south of Auchleven, by the banks of the Gadie Burn, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Alternative spellings are Licklihead and Licklyhead Castle.

Floors Castle

Photo: Timo Newton-Syms from Helsinki, Finland and Chalfont St Giles, Bucks, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Floors Castle

📍 Kelso, Scottish Borders

Floors Castle, in Roxburghshire, south-east Scotland, is the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe. Despite its name it is an estate house rather than a fortress. It was built in the 1720s by the architect William Adam for John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe, possibly incorporating an earlier tower house.

Brodie Castle

Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Brodie Castle

📍 Moray

Brodie Castle is a well-preserved Z-plan tower house located north of Brodie about 3.5 miles (5.5 kilometres) west of Forres, in Moray, Scotland. It is a Category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

Dumbarton Castle

Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Dumbarton Castle

📍 Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire

Dumbarton Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Breatainn, pronounced [t̪unˈpɾʲɛʰt̪ɪɲ]; Welsh: Alt Clut) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is 240 feet (73 m) high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton.

Taymouth Castle

Photo: Dudesleeper at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Taymouth Castle

📍 Perth and Kinross

Taymouth Castle is situated to the north-east of the village of Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, in the Highlands of Scotland, in an estate which encompasses 450 acres (180 ha). It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from Loch Tay, in the heartland of the Grampian Mountains.

Inverness Castle

Photo: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Inverness Castle

📍 Inverness, Highland

Inverness Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Inbhir Nis) sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland. A succession of castles have stood on this site since 1057, although the present structure dates from 1836. The present structure is a Category A listed building.

Drumlanrig Castle

Photo: M J Richardson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Drumlanrig Castle

📍 Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway

Drumlanrig Castle is situated on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The category A listed castle is the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry.

Carbisdale Castle

Photo: Anthony Round · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Carbisdale Castle

📍 Highland

Carbisdale Castle was built in 1907 for the Duchess of Sutherland on a hill across the Kyle of Sutherland from Invershin in the Scottish Highlands. From 1945 to 2011 it was used as a youth hostel, operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association.

Loch Leven Castle

Photo: Jonathan Oldenbuck · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Loch Leven Castle

📍 Kinross, Perth and Kinross

Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1357).

Duart Castle

Photo: Otter · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Duart Castle

📍 Argyll and Bute

Duart Castle, or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic, is a castle on the Isle of Mull, beside the Sound of Mull off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and is the seat of Clan MacLean.

Dumfries House

Photo: Billy McCrorie · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Dumfries House

📍 Cumnock, East Ayrshire

Dumfries House is a Palladian country house in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located within a large estate, around two miles (3 km) west of Cumnock.

How to find them

In the free PrimeMap app you will find all 1,327 places from this page on the map, with descriptions, photos and directions. Open the map wherever you are and see what is nearby.

App Store

Google Play

Descriptions: shortened excerpts from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence shown with each image. Locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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