A ruined gothic archway stands within a crumbling stone wall, a grass path leading through it towards open ground beyond.

Ayrshire

Loch Doon Castle

A castle of the Bruce earls of Carrick, moved stone by stone from its island in Loch Doon to the shore in 1935.

Welcome

Loch Doon Castle stands on the shore of a long loch in the hills south of Dalmellington, but it was not built here.

It was raised in the late 1200s by the Bruce earls of Carrick, perhaps by Robert the Bruce himself, on an island in the loch.

It saw hard times in the Wars of Independence. After defeat at Methven in 1306, Bruce's brother-in-law Sir Christopher Seton sought refuge here, and the castle changed hands more than once before the Scots won it back for good in 1314. The Kennedys held it later and built a tower house inside the walls.

In 1935, as a hydroelectric scheme raised the water, the castle was taken down stone by stone and rebuilt on the shore. Its unusual eleven-sided curtain wall and pointed gateway survive, open all year and free to visit.

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Before you go

Open all year round, and free.

Where: Loch Doon, near Dalmellington.
Built: Late 1200s.
Moved: To the shore in 1935.

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Did you know

An aerial view shows a small grass-covered peninsula reaching into dark water, its rocky edges fringed with pale sand and a tiny islet nearby.

Did you know

Eleven sides.

Loch Doon Castle's eleven-sided wall follows the shape of the island it first stood on, about 400 metres to the south.

A pointed stone archway stands alone in a ruined wall, a gravel path leading through it to a grassy field beyond.

Did you know

Still in the loch.

The portcullis of the castle's main gate is said to lie out in Loch Doon still.

Hidden Scotland

From our guide to Ayrshire

Loch Doon Castle stands on the shore of a long, lonely loch in the hills south of Dalmellington, but it was built somewhere else. The Bruce earls of Carrick raised it in the late 1200s on an island in the loch. It changed hands more than once in the Wars of Independence before the Scots won it back for good in 1314. In 1935, when a hydro scheme raised the water, the castle was taken down stone by stone and rebuilt on the shore. Its rare eleven-sided curtain wall and pointed gateway survive. It is free to visit, and the road up the loch makes a fine drive.

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Where it is

On the shore of Loch Doon, near Dalmellington.

Close byLoch Doon.

StraitonA pretty village in the hills.16 miles 40 min by road

Directions

Nothing of ours in this part of the map.

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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on 27 September 2026.