5 More Easily Accessed Castles

Welcome to part two of our easily accessed castles blog! Hopefully you were super inspired after part one and are ready to throw on your hiking boots and get travelling to these 5 incredible castles.

There’s just something so magical about the history behind these magnificent structures. One of our favorite things to do when we visit any castle is to stop, close our eyes and take in 3 deep breaths, then try to transport ourselves to the time when they were buzzing with people.
We try to think about the lives they lead, who their friends were, what their troubles were and what they did for a living. Then we remember how grateful we are to be living in this century minus the bloodshed, poor sanitation and lack of indoor heating 😂

Regardless of these..less desirable living conditions, we hope this blog inspires you to go and visit these amazing places and place yourselves in the residents of the pasts shoes too.

So without further adieu, let’s dive in!

1. Eilean Donan Castle

You’ll probably recognise this as one of Scotlands most famous castles, and for good reason! Eilean Donan Castle is on the main road to Skye and is nearly impossible to miss. Situated in the middle of a loch, this incredible castle had been neglected for the best part of 200 years until the island was bought in 1911. It took 20 years to reconstruct the castle to her former glory and is now one of the most visited castles in Scotland.

2. Castle Stalker

We completely stumbled across this castle by accident. Also situated in the middle of the water, the castle is only small and currently abandoned. If the tide is low you can get over onto the island but its spectacular from across the water too! We were also very happy to see a wee restaurant up the hill with a view of Castle Stalker. Grab yourself a pint and some scran and watch the sun go down!

3. HERMITAGE CASTLE

The Hermitage is quite a foreboding castle with a dark history. Myth and legend say that some pretty horrific stuff happened here, including boiling someone alive in lead - pretty grim! The castle itself is quite unique in it’s look and has a super eerie feeling about it. We’ve recently been told the castle has been fenced off, but you can see it from across the river and still get that sense of gloom and mystery whilst visiting!

4. Edinburgh Castle

Situated high above the city of Edinburgh is this magnificent castle. It’s hard to miss when waltzing around the city as no building is permitted to be taller than it! It’s a very well kept castle that you can tour inside for £20pp, or you can simply admire it’s beauty all around town. Fun fact, at 1pm every day (except for Sundays) the one o’clock gun fires. This dates back to 1861 and was a time signal that could be heard all the way to Leith.

5. Castle Tioram

I say this is an easy castle to get to, but there’s many potholes on the road through to Castle Tioram. That being said, it may just be my favorite castle! It rarely has any visitors, is surrounded by STUNNING scenery and is that perfect mix of ruin with structure that I love the most about Scottish castles. There are no current plans to restore the castle and you can’t see inside it, but to be in its presence is truely a delight!

There you have it! Now a total list of 10 easily accessible castles for your next Scottish adventure. Did we miss any? Have you visited any of these? Let us know in the comments below!

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