Top 5 Castles to Visit in Scotland

Looking to tour Scotland’s most beautiful castles? It’s estimated there were once as many as 3,000 castles in Scotland. Now there are still around 1,500 scattered throughout the country, from fairy-tale fortresses that have been beautifully preserved or restored, to craggy ruins that cling to clifftops. Here are the best castles to visit on your trip to Scotland:

1. Edinburgh Castle

Seen from almost anywhere you go in the capital, Edinburgh Castle, atop an old volcanic plug, is an idol of Scotland and has defended the nation for centuries. Within its walls are the Honours of Scotland (Scotland’s crown jewels), as well as the Stone of Destiny, and Edinburgh’s oldest building: St Margaret’s Chapel. Even if you don’t visit the castle itself, keep an ear out for the One O’clock Gun, which is fired every day except Sundays.

2. Aldourie Castle

Most visitors to Loch Ness head to Urquhart Castle, a ruin on the western shores that is saturated with tourists in summer, but for a castle visit with more privacy, the exclusive-use Scottish baronial palace of Aldourie on the southern shores is truly spectacular. If you can’t stretch to hiring the whole castle, there are also some lovely, quaint cottages to rent within the grounds.

3. Stirling Castle

This castle, located between the Highlands and the Lowlands, was once so integral to the swing of power in the country that it was said, “He who holds Stirling, holds Scotland.” Though it fell into disrepair for many years, careful restoration has returned some of the interiors to their Renaissance glory.

4. Dunnottar Castle

Formidable, dramatic, historic—there are many adjectives to describe this ruinous Aberdeenshire castle, where the Honours of Scotland were once hidden away, but none can conjure that feeling you get when you first spy it hanging on precariously atop sheer cliffs above the angry North Sea below.

5. Eilean Donan Castle

When you first see this castle on the road to the Skye Bridge, you’ll probably feel like you know it, even if you’ve never been here before, as it’s a popular filming location and features regularly on shortbread tins and the like. Much of what you see was re-created in the 20th century, but it doesn’t lose any of its atmosphere for it.

Start planning your adventure today:

Moon Scotland

by Sally Coffey

by Moon Travel Guides

Dramatic landscapes, hauntingly beautiful ruins, and stirring myths and legends: See for yourself why this evocative country has inspired art and folklore for centuries with Moon Scotland.

Price

$13.99

Price

$17.99 CAD

Format

ebook (Revised)

1. Trade Paperback (Revised)

Also available from:

• Amazon
• Apple Books
• Barnes & Noble
• Google Play
• Ebooks.com
• Kobo

Sally Coffey

About the Author

Little did Sally Coffey know that a holiday with friends to the Western Highlands 12 years ago would ignite a passion for Scotland that would see her return time and time again. With each visit she would fall a little deeper in love, bewitched by the fact that no two trips are ever the same.

Ensconced in a remote loch-side cottage that New Year’s Eve, Sally and her friends were astonished when the tradition of first footing they had read about was upheld, and a trio of jovial locals appeared (seemingly from nowhere) bearing gifts, including a lump of coal and the obligatory wee dram. Since then she’s been disarmed by the warmth of Scottish people everywhere she’s gone, from the folk pubs of Edinburgh to the shores of Loch Lomond. Her travels have taken her to the wilds of Skye and by seaplane to Oban. She’s mastered single-track roads and learned what it really means to be cold.

Born in London to Irish parents, Sally has spent the past decade writing about British travel. She is the editor of both Scotland and Discover Britain magazines and has written for national newspapers, glossy travel magazines and websites about Scotland. She is also the author of Moon Edinburgh, Glasgow & the Isle of Skye.

Learn more about this author