Loch Leven Castle lies tucked away from the world. A hidden jewel!…read moreHowever, I would guess that Mary, Queen of Scots would have thought differently during her imprisonment there for a year and loosing her twins in the progress of events outside her reach. The view towards the castle from the restaurant and coffee shop as well as Historic Scotland membership cottage is breath taking. There is no walkway to the castle and you need to book a boat/ferry trip in advance. A small ferry goes every hour and if you miss a time slot you can use the time to either eat in the restaurant or go for a walk. Presumably the castle was build during the 13th century and played its part during the Wars of Independence. It changed hands between the Bruce and the Douglas families. Nowadays it is a ruin and you can walk around the island to your own merit. I will definitely be back.

This doesn't top my list in terms of castle, but nonetheless fun to see if you happen to be in…read moreKirkcaldy. I parked down buy the beach then had to do some searching to figure out just how on earth to actually access the castle. Giant stair walk, then residential walk, then park walk later I was able to locate this castle. The park is quite big with access to a playground for kids so that's a bonus of you want to stretch out the day. It's nice, by the beach and free to access, but after the likes of St Bridget's Kirk and Arbedour castle this place pales in comparison.

Ravenscraig castle is a ruin build on a cliff top outside of Kirkcardy…read more I nearly missed the main entrance whilst driving out of town towards the East. LOOK out for the sign that says "Ravenscraig Park". Drive through the "gate" and you will notice a car park with limited spaces. You might even have the luxury of an ice cream van. I was not so lucky, but was able to find a car parking space up the main road. The park seems massive. Playgrounds everywhere. Lots of families with children. I walked along a path following the sign post "castle" and even passed some toilets and changing rooms. It felt like my surroundings started looking more dense with trees and other plants. AND there it was - in all its glory. I crossed a supposed to be drawbridge, well, a small wood bridge, to get to the ruin. Sadly, I was not able to explore any rooms as all entrances to the east and west towers were gated. However, the view from the castle towards the sea and the beach was amazing. There is no doubt that I had to use a lot of my imagination to block out the grey looking high storey towers of Kirkcaldy in the background and also ignore all the derelict rubbish on either side of the cliff. But still, the spirit remains and its walls tell you a story of a stormy and adventurous past. The castle started being build in 1460 by Mary, wife of James II, but was never finished until it exchanged hands and came into possession of the famous Sinclare family in Roslin. Its structure and walls were constructed to fend off rough artillery. If you look closer you might even see a secret passage leading from the coast into the...... A small pathway leads down to the beach and to the closeby dovecot. Nowadays the castle is maintained by Historic Scotland, but unmanned with restricted access. Still, it is a joy to all castle lovers!

I recently came across MacDuff Castle whilst exploring the coastal area of FIFE. There is no clear…read morevisible sign post and I had to find the hidden path just beside the MacDuff Cemetery outside of East Wemyss in FIFE. I drove along the A955 until I saw the cemetery on my right when coming from Wemyss and parked my car on the road. There is no car park, except the one at the cemetery. Walking along a small path i entered an area which was overgrown by plants and trees. Maybe its the fact that the ruins lie just beside a graveyard or because it is very quiet or lonely or the tale about the "grey lady" who haunts this place that I felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but after walking down towards the coast and the "beach" I felt a certain relieve and noticed a couple. Was I glad to encounter civilization :-) There is not much left of the castle (one or two ruined towers to which access is denied), which was supposedly built by the Clan MacDuff in the 11th century around the time of King Macbeth of Scotland. According to records or just profound wishful thinking, this castle was once a vast powerful place and changed hands often enough during the centuries. After King Edward I of England resided there he ordered the castle to be destroyed and it was rebuild by the Livingstones and Wemyss families. The most interesting part of the castle are the caves beneath. Sadly, they are either gated (The Well Cave) or have collapsed over the years. These caves are part of the Wemyss Cave tour, which shows you caves with markings of old times past (prehistoric - Pictish, Viking or Christians). I think they found a bone like marking in the Well cave. I might be back for the Wemyss Cave tour to find out more about this area and exciting past!

Glamis Castle is a beautiful castle in Angus, Scotland, that is currently lived in by Simon…read moreBowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, who succeeded to the earldom in 2016. Therefore, no photos of the castle were allowed during the tour. Pictures were allowed in the waiting area prior to the tour as well as in a room at the end of the tour. There was plenty of information provided on the history of the family and castle. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Queen Mother) lived here, and her daughter, Princess Margaret, was born at Glamis Castle. It was also home to Queen Elizabeth II. This castle was the inspiration for William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Overall, the castle, gardens, and grounds were well maintained. When we got to the castle, we had to stand in a line to get in. The weather was on and off drizzly. However, the tour was well worth the wait. There is a gift shop and coffee shop. Glamis Castle has many beautiful gardens accessible to the public and are not a part of the tour. Weddings and other events are held at Glamis Castle.

This was a nice photogenic castle to visit, on the exterior anyway as no photos were allowed…read moreinside. It's located in the countryside about 30 minutes to the north of the town of Dundee. It was the childhood home of the late Queen Elizabeth. The grounds around the castle are open and well maintained as there is nothing else in the vicinity of the castle. Our tour group also had a nice little soup and sandwich lunch here in their on-site restaurant.

A beautiful old country house with historic charm. This gigantic mansion is home to one of the…read moreworlds finest art collections. The whole place can be rented for events and is truly worth it. Think Wayne Manor just for your group. We had a bbq reception there and it was just breathtaking to stand on the terrace and watch the sunset, and then going inside to listen to the jazz band playing their tunes.

For historians, even those whose knowledge of Scottish "history" (used loosely) stems from multiple…read moreviewings of Braveheart (yeah, you know who you are!), there are several sites in Stirling that are must visits. The Old Stirling Bridge is one of them; the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle being at least two others. Fortunately, Stirling isn't all that big, and you can easily walk between the three without too much effort, and you'll be rewarded with gorgeous river views, and a bit of actual historical education along the way, for your trouble. Just make sure you end up on the Old Stirling Bridge, and not the adjacent A9 overpass. It may look similar, but you wouldn't want to get run over by a lorry while daydreaming about Mel Gibson in a kilt and wielding a claymore. That would just be weird.

I thought I would have been able to walk to this while at Stirling castle but it looked quite a…read morewalk away so I optedW to snatch some quick photos while driving past on the coach which was just as thrilling for me as actually being on it and it is a stunning bridge as bridges go due to its history. Hopefully one day I might get the chance to actually stand on it, touch it, feel it but for now I'm happy to have this stunning photo.

Huntingtower Castle is to be found just west of Perth beside the junction of the A9 and the A85…read moreCrieff road. Both the grounds and the castle are beautifully cared for and the staff are very knowledgable and friendly. Essentially, the castle is 'ruins', although there is still a lot to discover and you can walk right up to the roof. there is a room that is laid out for weddings - what a lovely place to get married. No tea shop or anything spectacular in the way of a large gift shop and the gardens themselves are rather small. We went on a 'heritage weekend', which meant that it was free entrance, so look out for other offers. Normal entry is approx £5 I think. Watch out for the bats who live in the roof....

The remains of Huntingtower Castle can be found west of Perth on the A85. Its well sign posted and…read morecan also easily been seen from the A85. The staff is very friendly and operate out of a little shed just beside the castle. There are toilets. I made my way to the original staff entrance to the west and worked my way up the spiral stairs accessing various rooms of the previous owners, like the bed chambers of the Lord and Ladies. The original owners were the Ruthven who fell out of favours with the crown after several kidnap and hostage attempts of their young king during their times. The Ruthven leader of the "Raid of Ruthven" was beheaded and his sons murdered 15 years later. After the "Gowrie Conspiracy" the Ruthven name was proscribed and their lands seized. Ruthven castle became Huntingtower and was given to the Murrays.Guess James never forgave them being held captive for at least 10 months. There are a lot of interesting rooms in that building, but the most interesting part for me were the battlements on which u can walk around the towers high up. Apparently the gap between two originally separated towers is called the 'maiden's leap" and named after an event when a fair lady jumped across a 3m gap from one tower to the other to escape her mothers scorn of being caught in the arms of her lover. Ehm, I saw the gap and am a bit doubtful she would jump that.........but hey ho, I guess, if mum is after you....:-) You can find out much more about this place from the guidebook or various boards inside the castle. The place might not look as awesome as other sites nearby, the history on the other hand is quite an interesting one. I also read that a Green Lady is haunting this place. She is called Lady Greensleeve and is said to foretell.....xx...but sometimes is helpful to souls in need. Ehm, am I glad I did not know this before I went and am I glad I did not see her :-D Enjoy!

I've been there not so long ago and I'd recommend this place for anyone who wants to get away from…read morethe city rush but not move away from the city itself. Large gardens with lots of footpaths around the castle plus stunning views over the Firth of Forth (especially on a bright and sunny day), quiet with a bit of Victorian atmosphere stil in the air. A trip for a half a day with a picnic basket higly recommended!!

The Heritage Pass will get you in here. Very interesting castle. There's a mine and a dungeon. A…read morelittle creepy and dark. It's all pretty accessible. Go up the tower and walk around. There's a great view of the cathedral ruins from one of the towers. I thought it was worth it using the Heritage Pass. I don't know that I'd pay extra to get in.

Note: This is not closed! Not sure why it says this…read more Went a few weeks back. When you pay to go in, you walk through s brief little history lesson as well so you have some idea of what you're looking at. A gorgeous castle site on the coast. It's amazing soil erosion hasnt wiped this out in the hundreds of years. The edges of the castle still stand but most of the walls are collapsed from the battle destruction and wear and tear. There is still plenty to see and take in. They labeled what all the parts of the castle once were. You can even see the creepy dungeon prison. One of the cooler things is the tunnel. I couldn't do it because of general claustrophobia. But during a battle the enemy was tunneling under the castle. They started a counter tunnel to block them and they successfully did. So, you can walk through the original tunnel. Talk about being in the heart of history!