With the exception of the key royal sites, such as Stirling and Edinburgh, few Scottish castles were located at strategic points, or were intended to house garrisons required to defend or subjugate towns. Instead they were primarily fortified dwelling houses, erected in an environment of weak Royal authority and endemic feuding between rival clans and groups, in both Highland and Lowland areas. Although some enceinte castles were developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, most defensive construction focused on the tower house, a distinctive vernacular style of Scottish fortification. This book examines the design, development, and purpose of these quintessentially Scottish buildings, and also covers larger sites such as Urquhart and Blackness.

A major new work on 800 clans and families of Scotland and their castles, houses, seats, and lands.

A must for all those who want to visit Scotland's many castles. The book covers all of the coutry's famous strongholds, as well as many lesser-known places, with location, access, visitor facilities, and contact details. There is a map, many photos, a glossary of architectural terms, and a family-name index, allowing the reader to identify any castle associated with their family.

This new edition has been called "the bible of Scottish castles." It is the only book to cover all of them -- a comprehensive reference and gazetteer to more than 2,700 castles and fortified sites. Heavily illustrated throughout with more than 300 photographs and drawings, this new edition has been completely revised, expanded, and updated, with information on 600 new sites. This is an easy-to-use alphabetical guide and gazetteer, with comprehensive listings, index of sites reputed to be haunted, a family names index, and twenty pages of maps locating every castle in Scotland. No castle enthusiast should be without this book. The culmination of ten years' research, The Castles of Scotland offers comprehensive information on the fortified buildings of Scotland, including histories, ownership, locations, facilities, and visitor access. The 2,700 sites discussed include the largest strongholds to the smallest ruins to mere sites. The history of a castle is as important as the physical remains. Some strongholds have a long and fascinating past yet no more than a vestige of their former strength survives, such as the castles at Inverness, Roxburgh, or Dunbar. Few castles can match the stark and romantic beauty of Eilean Donan Castle, or the majestic and imposing grandeur of Ballindalloch Castle or Crathes Castle, the dangerous cliffside setting of Dunnottar Castle, or the picturesque Kilchurn Castle. New for this edition: -- 670 new sites added -- historic houses and mansions open to the public now included -- improved and increased number of illustrations -- updated, corrected and more-detailed entries -- access details for the year 2001 and full list of facilities nowincluded -- 16 pages of full color photographs added to the cloth edition

The definitive and most comprehensive collection on castles, towers, and fortified houses of Scotland, with historical accounts, visitor information, and maps.

Synopsis coming soon.......

The Pictorial Directory of Scotland's Castles is a unique publication. Over a three-year period, I have compiled a list of over 1000 Scottish castles. I decided some time ago that I would attempt something which, to the best of my knowledge, had never been done before. I was going to attempt to visit every Scottish castle which still had visible remains above ground, find as many as I could, photograph each one and list it with a brief history of each castle. I have included hand-painted coats of arms of the clan chiefs and nobility who owned them and the clan crests. On each castle page, I have also given detailed directions on how to find each castle, complete with a What3words location, some tips on accessibility, facilities, nearby points of interest, examples of clan tartans, plant badges, and much more.