Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock’s wide moat, towered gatehouse and battlements make it look straight from a fairytale which has made it a popular location for filming movies, including The Decoy Bride (a romantic comedy starring David Tennant). The triangular shape of the castle’s defensive walls is unique in the British Isles. Visitors can download a free app for iOS or Android phones to help them plan their visit. The castle also features a permanent exhibition on siege warfare.
Open daily from 10am-4pm (last entry is at 3.30pm).
Entry varies from £1-£6 and can be booked online
Caerlaverock, Dumfries, DG1 4RU
Kellie Castle and Garden
Saved from ruin in the late 19th century by a family of artists and architects, Kellie Castle is bursting with artistic and architectural masterpieces. These include the majestic library ceiling, which is one of the oldest ornamental plaster ceilings in Scotland. The castle stables give you the chance to see Hew Lorimer’s sculpture studio and learn more about his life from the exhibition. Outside of the castle, you can venture into the Arts & Crafts garden bursting with plant life, including heritage roses. There's a variety of tours including guided and self-guided and they have a variety of events taking place throughout the year – this week it’s the Scottish Tree Festival. Whatever your interests, there’s enough to keep you busy.
Open Saturday-Thursday 11am-4pm (last entry at 3.15pm) for the castle – the gardens are open daily from 9am – dusk all year
Entry varies from £7.50-£18
Kellie Castle, Pittenweem, KY10 2RF
Bothwell Castle
Bothwell Castle was greatly fought over during the Wars of Independence and frequently passed back and forth between English and Scottish hands and, because of this, the castle was never completed to the original plans. However, with such a rich history it is one of Scotland’s most impressive medieval strongholds still standing. With a huge choice of history to uncover, including medieval prisons, there’s so much to discover at Bothwell Castle.
Open daily (except Thursday and Friday) from 10am-4pm (last entry 3.30pm)
Entry varies from £1-£6 and tickets can be booked online
Castle Avenue, Uddingston, Bothwell, Glasgow, G71 8BL
Dunrobin Castle
Dunrobin Castle is the most northern among Scotland’s great houses and the largest in the Northern Highlands, featuring 189 rooms. The castle is also one of Britain’s oldest continuously inhabited houses. The castle closely resembles a French chateau and was the architectural influence for the designer of London’s Houses of Parliament. The castle has an incredibly interesting history, and later was used as a naval hospital during the First World War. The castle also offers stunning views as it overlooks the Dornoch Firth.
Open daily 10.30am-4.30pm (last entry is 4pm)
Entry varies from £7.50-£12
Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, Sutherland, Scotland, KW10 6SF
Crookston Castle
Crookston is the only surviving medieval castle in Glasgow. Its hilltop position gives sweeping views of the south-east of Glasgow. There are a variety of rooms to explore, including a kitchen, a prison and servants’ quarters.
Open daily (except Thursday and Friday) 10am-4pm (last entry 3.30pm)
Entry is free
170 Brockburn Road, Glasgow, G53 5RY
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here