Glasgow

Bothwell Castle

A red sandstone castle of the 1200s on the River Clyde by Uddingston, with a great round tower almost 20 metres across.

Welcome

Bothwell Castle is a great red sandstone ruin on a bend of the River Clyde, nine miles from the centre of Glasgow, and its round tower is like nothing else in Scotland.

Almost 20 metres across, with walls more than four and a half metres thick, it was built for the Moray family in the 1200s and fought over again and again in the Wars of Independence.

Edward I took the castle in 1301 after hauling a huge siege tower all the way from Glasgow, and half of the great tower was brought down in 1337, most likely by the Scots themselves to keep it from the English. The Douglases later rebuilt the castle round a big grassy courtyard, and the tall windows of their great hall still look out over the river. Some parts are closed for conservation just now, so the ticket price is lower than usual. Wear good shoes, and follow the Clyde Walkway along the river afterwards.

Before you go

While conservation works go on, the great tower, the south-east tower and the great hall are closed, and the ticket price is lower.

Much of the castle and its grounds can still be explored.

Hours: 1 April to 30 September, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm. 1 October to 31 March, Saturday to Wednesday, 10am to 4pm. Closed for lunch from 12.30 to 1.30pm; last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Closed: Mondays and Sundays in summer, Thursdays and Fridays in winter, and from 25 December to 5 January.
Tickets: Adults £4.50, concessions £3.50, children aged 7 to 15 £2.50 while the works go on. Historic Scotland members free; Young Scot card holders £1.
Parking: A small car park at the end of Castle Avenue, about 160 metres from the entrance along a level path.
By train: Uddingston station is about a 30-minute walk, by Main Street and Castle Avenue.
Dogs: Welcome in the outdoor areas; assistance dogs in the roofed parts too.
Café: None on site, but there is a picnic area and a water bottle refill point.

Opening hours

Their website

Monday: 10am–12.30pm, 1.30pm–4pm
Tuesday: 10am–12.30pm, 1.30pm–4pm
Wednesday: 10am–12.30pm, 1.30pm–4pm
Thursday: Closed
Friday: Closed
Saturday: 10am–12.30pm, 1.30pm–4pm
Sunday: 10am–12.30pm, 1.30pm–4pm

Did you know

Bothwell Castle from the air, its red sandstone curtain walls and round towers round a green courtyard, the River Clyde dark among the woods behind.

Did you know

A siege tower dragged from Glasgow.

In 1301 Edward I of England besieged the castle in person, with a huge siege engine called le berefrey, the belfry, hauled here from Glasgow. The garrison surrendered within the month.

Bothwell Castle from high above, its walls and round towers round the green courtyard, the River Clyde curving through the woods beyond.

Did you know

Fourteen months under siege.

Early in the Wars of Independence the English held Bothwell, and the Scots won it back only after a siege that lasted fourteen months.

Looking up at a round tower of red sandstone at Bothwell Castle and the tall pointed windows of the wall beside it, clouds crossing the sky.

Did you know

A way out along the wall.

The great tower had its own escape route: from the topmost room along the wall-walk of the south wing wall to the prison tower, a smaller round tower with a pit in its base.

Did you know

A moat with a sluice.

The round tower stood inside its own stone-lined moat, which had a sluice for filling and emptying it, and its doorway was angled away from battering rams.

Inside the courtyard of Bothwell Castle on a summer day, a wall of tall arched windows and a round tower in red sandstone above the green lawn.

Did you know

Spanish garlic from the castle garden.

The sand leek, also known as Spanish garlic, grows at Bothwell and is probably a relic of the castle garden. In the Middle Ages it went into an eye salve.

Bothwell Castle from the air on its green ground above a bend of the River Clyde, the woods dark along both banks.

Did you know

A tunnel under the Clyde?

In the drought of 1976, what looked like the entrance to a tunnel of fine red sandstone was seen by the river. It appears to run under the Clyde to Blantyre Priory on the far bank.

Did you know