Scottish castles
Edinburgh's ancient keeps
Scottish castles are fortified structures built throughout Scotland from medieval times onward, ranging from stark stone towers to grand palatial residences.
Many served as clan strongholds, defending against English invasions and rival families.
Today they function as tourist attractions, museums, or private homes: We toured three Scottish castles on our trip through the Highlands.
The phrase evokes romantic images of misty highlands, feudal history, and architectural grandeur.
- Jacobite uprisingsScottish attempts restoring exiled dynasty
- battlementsNotched defensive wall top
- portcullisesFortress entrance barriers
- turretsSmall projecting towers
- drawbridgesHinged movable bridges
heritage tourism · curtain walls · restoration projects · keeps · stone walls · royal lineage · clan traditions · Highland clans · folklore · moats · clan feuds · clan warfare · dungeon · secret passages · haunted ruins · ghost stories · historical reenactments · stone
- Scottish heritagehighland clans, Campbell, MacDonald, Stewart, Fraser
- Celtic dwellingsbothy, croft, crofts, round towers, thatched cottages
- Scottish WarsRobert the Bruce, William Wallace, Bannockburn, Bruce, Edward I
Scottish castlesbeach huts
Small coastal shelters
thatched cottages · garden pavilions · French châteaux · Roman villas · summer houses
Scottish castlestemporary shelters
Structures for brief habitation
yurts · lean-tos · tipis · mobile homes · mud huts