List of castles in Scotland Facts for Kids

Craigievar Castle, Aberdeenshire

A castle is a strong, fortified building. People built castles mainly during the Middle Ages, which was a long time ago. Think of a castle as a private, strong home for a lord or a noble person. It's different from a fortress, which was usually just for soldiers and not a home. But sometimes, a building could be both!

In Scotland, people built strong places even before castles. These included hill forts, brochs (round towers), and duns (small forts). Many Scottish castles were built on the same spots as these older structures. The first castles in Scotland appeared in the 11th and 12th centuries. This was when Anglo-Norman ideas came to Scotland.

These early castles were often "motte and bailey" castles. They had a wooden tower on a big mound of earth (the motte) and a fenced yard (the bailey). Later, around the year 1200, people started building castles with stone.

Changes in Castle Design
Decorating Castles
Where to Find Scottish Castles
Castles by Area
Castles in Stories and Movies
See also

Changes in Castle Design

By the late 1300s, the very large castles with huge curtain walls (outer walls) became less common. Instead, people started building "tower houses." These were tall, vertical homes that were still strong but not as heavily defended as earlier castles. Tower houses stayed popular with Scottish landowners until the late 1600s.

Around this time, new building styles, called classical architecture, started to appear. Also, as cannons and other powerful weapons improved, military builders had to make royal castles even stronger.

Decorating Castles

In the 1500s and 1600s, many tower houses and castles got beautiful decorations. They often had painted ceilings and fancy plasterwork. These designs often used unique Scottish styles.

Later, in the late 1700s, people became interested in old medieval Scottish buildings again. They started building new houses that looked like castles. These new "castles" weren't for defense at all. They just used castle-like features for decoration. This trend led to the Scottish Baronial style in the 1800s, which made many grand, castle-like homes.

Where to Find Scottish Castles

There have been more than two thousand castles in Scotland! Many are only known from old records. You can find castles all over the country. However, tower houses and peel towers (which were also strong towers) are often found near the border with England. The best examples of larger, fancy tower houses from the Renaissance period are mostly in the north-east of Scotland.

Some people debate if all Scottish castles are "true" castles. This is mainly about how different experts define the word "castle." But no matter the exact definition, Scottish castles are a huge part of the country's history and heritage.

Castles by Area

Scotland has many castles, and they are spread across different areas. You can find lists of castles in specific regions, like:

Castles in Stories and Movies

Scottish castles have inspired many famous stories!

McDuck Castle is the home of the Disney character Scrooge McDuck.
In The Black Island, a comic from The Adventures of Tintin, there's a castle based on Lochranza Castle.
The Ghosts of Inverloch, a Valérian comic, also features a Scottish castle.
Castle Dangerous, a novel by Sir Walter Scott, was inspired by Douglas Castle.
Old Mortality, another novel by Sir Walter Scott, used Craignethan Castle as inspiration for "Tillietudlem Castle."
Hogwarts Castle, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter books, is a famous fictional castle.

List of castles in Scotland facts for kids

Contents

Changes in Castle Design

Decorating Castles

Where to Find Scottish Castles

Castles by Area

Castles in Stories and Movies

See also