Scottish Castles

Local information

Cubbie Roo's Castle, Hebrides & Isles

Location: Wyre, Orkney Islands, Grid reference HY4426 (map and directions)

Cubbie Roo's Castle is one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland, built around 1150 on the western side of Wyre, one of the Orkney Islands. This now ruined castle took its name from Kolbein Hruga, a Norse chieftain who is said to have lived in the castle.

Cubbie Roo's Castle © S Allison

History of Cubbie Roo's Castle

Originally the structure would have been a simple stone tower and outer defences consisting of a ditch, earthworks and a stone wall. Today, the wall survives only to a height of 1.2 metres, though as its base is 2.2m thick, it must have been an imposingly tall structure. Only the ground floor of the structure survives.

Excavations in the 1930s revealed that Cubbie Roo’s Castle went through at least five external building phases with extensions added to the main tower and buildings constructed around it.

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Other castles in Hebrides & Isles