Best of Scottish Highlands
The 20 best castles in Scottish Highlands
Our curated top 20 castles in Scottish Highlands, ranked by quality rating, image richness and content depth. For the complete list of 703 castles see the full castles index for Scottish Highlands.
- 1
Caithness
Caithness (; Scottish Gaelic: Gallaibh [ˈkal̪ˠɪv]; Old Norse: Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, which was the county
- 2
Taymouth Castle
Taymouth Castle is situated to the north-east of the village of Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, in the Highlands of Scotland, in an estate which encompasses 450 acres (180 ha). It lies on the south bank o
- 3
- 4
- 5
Peel of Lumphanan
The Peel of Lumphanan, also known as the Peel Ring or Peel Bog of Lumphanan, is a defensive structure dating back to the 13th century. It is located near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotlan
- 6
- 7
Urquhart Castle
Urquhart Castle ( UR-kərt; Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal na Sròine) is a ruined castle that sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The castle is on the A82 road, 21 kilometres (13 mi) southwe
- 8
- 9
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope") is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the northeast coast of Scotland, about 2 miles (3 kilomet
- 10
Brucklay Castle
Brucklay Castle — 16th-century castle in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire in Scotland.
- 11
Dunoon
Dunoon (; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Omhain [t̪un ˈo.ɪɲ]) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south o
- 12
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire (Scots: Aiberdeenshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the historic county of Aberdeenshire, which had subs
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
Glengarnock Castle
Glengarnock Castle is one of the ancient ruined fortifications of Ayrshire. Its keep is located on a remote rocky promontory overlooking the River Garnock about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town of K
- 17
Johnstone Castle
Johnstone Castle (Scots: Johnstoun Castle, Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Baile Iain) is a structure and former mansion in the town of Johnstone in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It belonged to the Houstons of Mi
- 18
Cluny Castle
Cluny Castle was originally built c.1604 as a Z-plan castle replacing either a house or small peel tower. Sited in the parish of Cluny, it is south of Monymusk and north of Sauchen in Aberdeenshire, n
- 19
- 20
Barony and Castle of Giffen
Barony and Castle of Giffen — castle and barony in North Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom.
