Doune Castle

Doune Castle

A medieval castle almost frozen in time

Doune Castle stands beside a bend of the River Teith, near the village of Doune in central Scotland, not far from Stirling. What makes it special is how complete it is. While many medieval castles survive only as broken walls, at Doune you can still walk through the gatehouse, stand in the great hall, and climb the towers almost as people did six hundred years ago. It is one of the best-preserved castles of its age anywhere in Scotland.

The castle of the "uncrowned king"

Doune was built in the late fourteenth century, around the 1380s, for Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. Albany was one of the most powerful men in the kingdom: for many years he governed Scotland on behalf of his brother and then his young nephew, ruling so completely that he is sometimes called Scotland's "uncrowned king." His castle at Doune was both a comfortable home and a stronghold, guarding an important route between the Lowlands and the Highlands.

After Albany's family fell from power, the castle passed to the Crown and became a royal property. It served as a hunting lodge and as a "dower house" — a home for widowed queens — and Mary, Queen of Scots is among the royals connected with it. During the last Jacobite rising of 1745–46, the supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie held the castle and used it to keep prisoners.

Built for a great lord

Doune was cleverly designed around a courtyard, with its grandest rooms gathered into a towering gatehouse block. Here the duke had his own great hall, kitchen and private chambers, all reachable by a single stair. The clever part was that this tower could be shut off and defended on its own — even against the castle's own soldiers, should they ever turn against their lord. The great hall, with its high windows and musicians' gallery, was a place for feasts, while the enormous kitchen could cook for a small army of guests.

A castle of the screen

In recent times Doune has become one of the most filmed castles in the world. In 1975 it starred in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where it played several castles at once — including the home of the taunting French soldiers and the dangerous "Castle Anthrax." Its audio guide for visitors was even recorded by Terry Jones of Monty Python. Later the same walls became Castle Leoch, the home of Clan Mackenzie, in the television series Outlander, with a guide voiced by its star Sam Heughan. The castle also appeared as Winterfell in the very first episode of Game of Thrones. For fans of all three, a visit to Doune is a kind of pilgrimage.

Visiting today

To visit Doune is to step straight into the Middle Ages — and, for many people, into their favourite films and television shows at the same time. You can climb the gatehouse tower, stand where dukes once feasted, peer into the great kitchen, and walk the courtyard where knights, kings and (much later) film crews have all left their mark. Few castles manage to be at once so old, so complete, and so familiar.