CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE

Caerlaverock is everyone’s idea of a ‘real’ castle: an awe-inspiring ruin full of nooks and crannies and a long and distinguished history of lordly residence and wartime siege.

Caerlaverock Castle stands beside the salt marches of the Solway Firth, an impressive feature amid the lush Nithsdale countryside.

With its moat, twin-towered gatehouse and imposing battlements, Caerlaverock Castle is the epitome of the medieval stronghold. The castle’s turbulent history owes much to its proximity to England, which brought it into border conflicts. The contemporary account of the great English siege of 1300 is one of the most fascinating recorded for any medieval castle in Britain.

The lands of Caerlaverock Castle were granted to the Maxwells about 1220. Their castle was too small and in the 1270s they began building the present castle. The rich red stone is peaceful now, but if those stones could talk they would tell of lords and lieges, knights and sieges.

Edited text from the Historic Scotland
official guide (ISBN 1 903570 76 X) and web site.
Copyright © Historic Scotland 2005.

To view the panoramic images for Caerlaverock Castle click the photo below:

Location 8m SE of Dumfries on the B725.
Region: Dumfries and Galloway.