Shakespeare made his title character in Macbeth the “Thane of Cowdor”, although Cawdor Castle was actually built after the events of the play. The connection between Cowdor Castle and William Shakespeare is still fun. 

You will find Cawdor Castle 5 miles southwest of Nairn and 10 miles east of Inverness.

Dating back to before 1454 with parts possibly dating back to the late 1300s. This Scotland Castle was once owned by Clan Calder and is now the home of the Doweger Countess Cawdor. 

Cawdor Castle is known for its beautiful Gardens. You will enjoy a walled garden, flower garden, wild garden, and woods with numerous species of trees. Cawdor Castle is open to the public from the spring though fall.

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Although Balhousie Castle dates back before the mid 1600s, this castle was mostly rebuilt in the late 1800s. There is very little left of the original castle, so when you visit you will see a representation of Baronial Style built by architect David Smart.

Located on Hey Street in Perth, Scotland. 

In the mid 1960s Balhousie Castle became the regimental headquarters and museum of the Black Watch. You can see the regiment’s history from 1939 to now. The Regimental Trustees where supposed to buy the castle to protect the museums future, so check with your guide to make sure it can still be toured.

Above photo of Tay in Perth Scotland from the Library of Congress

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When you think of visiting a city on your Scotland vacations you are probably thinking of Edinburgh. Although I love Edinburgh it isn’t the only big city in Scotland worth visiting. Glasgow is a beautiful city with warm locals and so much to see and do. You could spend your entire Scotland vacations and still not see everything. 

Just to give you a taste of what you can find in Glasgow here is a few of its magnificent gardens.

Botanic Gardens

In the beginning these Botanic Gardens were just a collection of plants kept for medicinal reasons by the university. In 1842 this collection was moved to the west end suburbs. Today the Botanic Garden stretches to 27 acres. You can enter the gardens on Great Western Road and Queen Margeret Drive.  These gardens contain Kibble Palace which is a 23,000 sq foot glasshouse filled with exotic trees and plants from all corners of the earth. Outside you will enjoy an herb harden, sequential border, an arboretum, a renowned orchid collection, and the national collection of begonias.

Glasgow Green

The Glasgow Green is the oldest public park in Scotland. It was given to the people in 1450 and used ever since. This park has an interesting history. For a very long time this park was used as a place for the people to hang there wash, graze there cattle, and have public hangings. Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army camped in the park. Football clubs were started here, and the earliest golf clubs played on the green. This park is also the home of the Peoples Palace which is worth have Scotland vacations just to visit it.

Above photo of Glasgow Cathedral from Cornell University Library

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Invergorry Castle is one of the few of the castles in Scotland that are located on the shores of Lock Ness. There is a great view of this castle from the Glengarry Castle.

Located seven miles south of Fort Augustus on the famous Lock Ness.

This one of the Castles of Scotland has an exciting history. Well it’s only seems exciting long after it happened at least, I couldn’t imagine how scary being there would have been. The castle was built in the early 1600s then just 50 years later was burnt to the ground. The Invergorry Castle was rebuilt and got the pleasure a two visits by Bonnie Prince Charlie. These visits caused it to be blown up.

Today Invergorry Castle is a ruin that consists of mostly one very tall wall. From one side you can see where the stars were.

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Castles in Scotland come is all sizes and shapes. If you look at the ruin of Hailes Castle from the North West the remaining wall looks enormous. The oldest part of these castle ruins dates back to the late 1200s.

Located near the Scotland River Tyne.

Hailes Castle was once the home of Robert the Bruce, and has a long and interesting history. This castle was considered once to be the most magnificent or the small castles in Scotland. It was once captured by the English and then recaptured by the Scots.

Today Hailes Castle is a ruined castle, but there are the remnants of several structures that you can tour. This is one of the castles in Scotland that is set up to be safely toured.

Above photo of Hailes Castle by Alex Morrice

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The oldest parts of this ruined castle dates back to the 1400s. Some of the castles in Scotland are located in what seem like particularly dangerous areas, like cliffs and high rocky outcroppings like the Findlater Castle. No wonder this particular castle is in ruins.

Located on the coast between Sandend and Cullen.

Like many other castles in Scotland, Finlater Castle has an interesting past including the beheading of one of its previous owners.

Today Findlater Castle is in complete ruins so you should see this one from a distance. Also keep in mind that it sits on a sea cliff, so watch your step.

Above photo of Findlater Castle by stusmith uk

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Eden Castle is one of the castles in Scotland in ruins with only a few tall walls left. Originally built in the late 1500s by the Meldrum family. This Castle was also home to the Leslie family and the Earl of Fife William Duff.

Located 4 miles from Banff in the Aberdeenshire area.

You can really picture how desolate and cold castle would probably have been while looking at this one of the castles in Scotland. Imagine how the kitchen and bedrooms would have looked.

Today you can visit Eden Castle, but you can’t get to close. There are nice railings that will give you a guideline of where you can view the castle ruins from in safety.

Above photo of Eden Castle by haqlundc

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Denmylne Castle is one of the most interesting of the Ruined Castles in Scotland. Built in the mid 16th century, in the 1800s the last of the castle Lairds disappeared and Denmylne has been empty ever since.

Located near Newburgh.

This castle was actually once one of six mills attached to a farm and is also called Den Mill. 

Today Denmylne Castle is privately owned and in ruins. I’m not sure if you can tour the inside, but you can easily see it from the street that run right beside this one of the ruined castles in Scotland. Look for a large tree growing in the middle of it.

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Cadzow Castle was once one of those castles in Scotland primarily used as a hunting lodge. Originally built in the 12th century. This castle wasn’t just used as a hunting lodge back then. Occasionally it was used as David the first residence. The Current castle ruin dates back to the early 1500s and the newer buildings built in the 18th century.

Located one mile south east of the town of Hamilton.

Cadzow has an interesting history including being the place that Mary Queen of Scots came to after she escaped from Lock Leven Castle.

Today this is one of the Castles in Scotland that belongs to Historic Scotland. You can see Cadzow castle from a bit of a distance because it is in ruins and therefore very dangerous.

above photo of Cudzow Castle by  alistairmcmillan

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Blervie Castle is one of those castles in Scotland that it is hard to find a lot of information about. Built by the Dunbar family in the late 16th century, this fortification was built on a hill in a z plan. 

Located 5 miles south-east of Forres, Morey.

Near Blervie castle there are four large stones standing up that might have been part of an old Caledonian stone circle.

Today Blervie castle consists of a four or five story tower with the rest in ruins. It seems that this is one of those castles in Scotland that you can only see from a distance as it might still be privately owned.

If you have more information about this castle we would love to hear about it.

Looking for a good photo of Blervie Castle. If anyone would like to exchange a photo for a link contact me at sendemailhere@rocketmail.com

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