Castles & Palaces of Scotland

You've probably noticed that castles are a major theme in my Scotland Blogs. As well as Scottish food,  particularly scones, but that's for another day.

The Scottish countryside is scattered with fortified castles which are a reminder of the centuries of assaults that this country underwent throughout history.

It's amazing how the Scots can make you feel so welcome and offer their famous "no worries" advice, considering all of the tumult that the country faced since the beginning of its existence.

Fear of invasion warranted the building of castles for protection.  Each was a residence for Royalty that was fortified against attack.

And, yes, I've visited a number of them, some of them more than once.

Most of the castles that I visited were ruins bought up by the National Trust of Scotland for preservation.  Nearly all had fallen victim to Cromwell's destruction in the mid 1600's. The NTS buys up the property and saves these important historical buildings from further deteriation.  They then set up the grounds to offer a glimpse of the past so that one can try to understand the history.

What's really amazing is how many of these structures continue to stand in the countryside, some from as early as the 11th century!    We are fortunate that they were not all destroyed over time, and that the NTS realizes the importance of maintaining these structures for future generations to explore.

Each one of these fortifications was unique in its own way.  You might have thought that I'd get tired looking at so many stone structures, but the history behind each of them really fascinates me.


One thing that I learned from an NTS guide was that a church had always precluded a castle or a palace.  Sadly, very few of these original Catholic churches survived the Protestant reformation. But most of the ruins that I explored still contained some part of the original church structure.

So, let me share some of my thoughts on these amazing structures that I was lucky enough to visit.

Aberdour is considered to be the oldest stone castle in all of Scotland.  St. Fillans stands just outside the castle walls, and it has been restored for use as a parish church for the town. 

Stirling and Edinburgh stand on crags offering spectacular views of the countryside.  Both have finished rooms, with Stirling recently being renovated to reflect the era of James V.  But none of the furnishings is original to the castle.  Even the tapestries are copies, with the originals being held in the Metropolitan museum in New York City.  Both look pretty spectacular when lit up at night.

Edinburgh Castle at night

Stirling Castle at dusk

 Castle Campbell looks as if someone just dropped it onto the top of a mountain in Dollar Glen.  The hike up the hill to the castle was surely a work out, but the views over the town and countryside were well worth the effort.

Kellie Castle is nestled in the country with lovely walled gardens to peruse. It was bought by John Lorimor in the late 1800's.  He is responsible for preserving this quaint castle and turning it into a fine country home where he raised his family.

Dirleton, the only castle that I visited with a moat and drawbridge, is located on the southern part of the Firth of Forth, very near the North Sea. It is on the outskirts of a very charming town and boasts lovely gardens. 

 St. Andrews in Northern Fife offered some spectacular vistas. Ravenscraig stands near Dysart, with lovely views over the Firth of Forth from the north.

Tantallon Castle juts out into the North Sea.  The vistas from the top of the ruins are amazing, and we spotted a pair of Puffins on the rocks below.

Loch Leven can only be reached by boat across the lake, making that visit quite a unique experience.

Craigmillar Castle stood out as my favorite, primarily because it is hidden very near Edinburgh, and it is fairly well preserved, having been spared from the wrath of Cromwell.

In addition to the many castle which offered safe haven, the Royal Kings also built palaces, which were designed for relaxation,  more for pleasure than for fortification against attack.

The oldest of the Palaces that I visited was Dumfermline Palace, built by Malcolm III and Queen Margaret. There is quite a bit of history associated with this palace, but, sadly, very little of it remains.  The adjoining Abbey continues to stand well-preserved, however, with a tribute to Robert the Bruce upon it's steeple.

The Royal Palace at Culross was not built until the late 1500's.  We were not able to tour it when we were in the town, but the exterior certainly looked charming in this well-preserved village along the Firth of Forth.  The gardens are stacked on a hill behind the palace which is where this photo was taken.

Linlithgow Palace features the original fountain constructed by James V.  Climbing to the top of the tower offers outstanding views of the surrounding countryside. 

Holyrood Palace, located in Edinburgh, is quite spectacular.  The interior reflects life during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.  The ruins of the Abbey still stand out among the beauty of the surrounding gardens.

Falkland Palace was my favorite place to visit.  It is located on the outskirts of the town of Falkland and continues to hold an active Catholic Chapel. The furnishings were original to the building, and the grounds boast the oldest tennis court in the world.  The locals seem to be very excited by that fact. Mary loved staying at Falkland, and it is certainly easy to see why.

One of the places that we stumbled upon quite by accident was Kinneil house.  The estate was gifted to the Hamilton family from Robert the Bruce in the early 1300's.  What began as a small tower house in the 1400's, eventually expanded to a palace and a family home.  In the 1600's, major renovations were made to Kinneil house.  But, a century later,  the house was rented to tenants, and it fell into disrepair.

This building was scheduled for demolition in 1936 when it was discovered that rare Renaissance wall paintings were hiding under the plaster in two of the rooms in the tower.  The town council realized what a gem they nearly destroyed, and they began to make efforts to restore the house and rooms for viewing.  The earliest buildings had already been gutted at this point, so they continue to stand as ruins, but the rest of the house has been preserved and can be toured on certain days of the month.  And we happened to be lucky enough to be in Scotland on one of those open house days, so I could add that to my list of palaces that I visited.

The one thing that I never realized prior to visiting the Edinburgh area, was just how many of these castles and palaces Mary, Queen of Scots visited.  I just cannot imagine her entourage traveling to some of these locations, but the literature shows that she did, indeed, visit many of the residences that I have mentioned. 

Let me just give you a brief synopsis

Mary, Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow Palace:

crowned Queen of Scotland at Stirling Castle at the age of 9 months:

As a very young child, she visited Callendar House, near Edinburgh.  Note the French influence in the construction of this manor home.  Mary's mother was French and felt comfortable in such surroundings

.

When she was five, a marriage agreement was made on her behalf with the eldest son of the King of France.  She was sent there shortly thereafter, where she grew up in the Palace and married the young prince, who became King upon his father's death, crowning her Queen of France.

But that was short-lived, when the young King died at a very young age from an ear infection.  Mary was then sent home from France to rule her own country of Scotland. 

Upon return, she stayed at Craigmillar Castle.

Her maids, most of whom where French, traveled with her, and stayed nearby in a little village which is still known to this day as "Little France". 

Mary attended a wedding celebration at Castle Campbell, where she stayed a few days during the festivities. 

While staying at Rossend Castle near Burntisland she was accosted by Pierre de Boscosel de Chastelard, who hid under her bed so that he could surprise her and  proclaim his love for her. That grave mistake on his part led to his beheading not long afterwards.  

Not sure who was more surprised by that action!

Mary frequently traveled  to St. Andrew's Castle, and often stopped at Dumfermline Castle.  

She gave birth to her son, James VI, at Edinburgh Castle. His painting hangs near the room where he was born.

Tantallon Castle is on the list of Mary's travels as well.

She spent much time in residence at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, but her favorite place of refuge was Falkland Palace.  It certainly isn't difficult to see why she would pick Falkland for relaxation.

Sadly, Lochleven Castle, which she visited frequently, became her original place of imprisonment, where she was forced to sign papers to abdicate her throne.

She managed to escape across the loch, but her freedom would prove to be short-lived.  Very sad, indeed.

And that about sums up my castle/palace adventures.  I hope that you have enjoyed my travels out and about Edinburgh.  I certainly had a grand time exploring!

Did I mention how much I enjoyed the scones?