Scottish Castles

Local information

Doune Castle, Stirlingshire

Location: Doune, FK16 6EA (map and directions)

Doune Castle lies across a bridge from the village of Doune, five miles from Stirling in central Scotland. The castle is a late 14th century fortalice located on a wooded bend when the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith, making it a significant defensive structure.

Doune Castle © J Thomas

History of Doune Castle

Unlike other Scottish castles which were repeatedly renovated and added on to, Doune Castle is particularly remarkable as the product of one single construction which has survived relatively unchanged and intact since it was begun by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, and the son of King Robert II of Scotland. Doune Castle is made up of a central courtyard with ranges of buildings on either side. The striking 100ft-tall gatehouse includes the cathedral-like Lord’s Hall, with a musician’s gallery and double fireplace, while a grand tower house contained the rooms of the Lord and his family. A separate tower was for the kitchen, staff and guest rooms and the great hall linked the two towers.

Doune Castle was used as a royal hunting lodge until the late 16th century when it became the property of the Earls of Moray. At this point the castle saw military actions during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn’s Rising in the 17th century, in addition to the Jacobite Rising of the 17th and 18th centuries. After seeing such significant battle time, Doune Castle had become a ruin by 1800. In the 1880s the castle was restored and was then passed into government care in the early 1900s. Doune Castle is now maintained by Historic Scotland.

Map and directions

Other castles in Stirlingshire