Seat of the Maxwells, created Earls of Nithsdale in 1620, this late 13th century castle has an unusual triangular plan and a water-filled moat. The north corner has a twin towered gatehouse, the other corners single round towers. There has been much rebuilding and adding of new apartments and fresh battlements and gunloops during the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries, partly as a result of several sieges and subsequent dismantlings. Foundations of an earlier castle lie to the SE and there are reproductions of siege engines.

Written by  Mike Salter.

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Once grand...

Caerlaverock Castle was built in 1280, coming under the ownership of the English in 1312, before the then owner switched sides to the Scots. Robert the Bruce then ordered the castle to be dismantled to keep it out of the hands of the English. Partly rebuilt in the 1600's by the first Earl of Nithsdale, it sits in some magnificent countryside, seven miles south-east of Dumfries.

 

Review posted 29th August 2007 by matt_b.

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