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A round stone tower with a corbelled top and small square opening stands in a field, low ruined walls extending from its base.
Dumfries and Galloway

Orchardton Tower

The only free-standing round tower house in Scotland, built two centuries after round towers went out of use.

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Welcome

Every other tower house in Scotland is square, and Orchardton is round.

That is what sets it apart: round towers, or donjons, belong to the twelve hundreds, and this one was raised after 1455. John Cairns built it, probably on land he came by when James II broke the Douglases, and he built it two hundred years out of date. Nobody knows why: an Irish influence has been suggested, and so has plain conservatism. What stands is a tower of four storeys with a spiral stair in the thickness of the wall, the footings of a hall and courtyard round it, and a view over the Rough Firth from the top. It is in state care, it is free, and it is down a farm lane with almost nobody there.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Before you go
How long
Half an hour to an hour
Cost
Free
Getting there
A narrow farm lane off the A711; small parking place, then a short walk.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
Open all day and night
Tuesday
Open all day and night
Wednesday
Open all day and night
Thursday
Open all day and night
Friday
Open all day and night
Saturday
Open all day and night
Sunday
Open all day and night

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Did you know

A round stone tower with a corbelled top and small square opening stands in a field, low ruined walls extending from its base.
Did you know

The only round one in Scotland.

Every other free-standing tower house in the country is square or rectangular. Orchardton is a cylinder, and it is the only one.

A round stone tower with a corbelled top stands within the low ruined walls of a courtyard, trees lining the field behind.
Did you know

Two hundred years out of fashion.

Round donjons belong to the thirteenth century. John Cairns built this one after 1455, long after they had been given up everywhere else.

Did you know

Land from the fall of the Douglases.

Cairns may have come by the ground after James II broke the power of the Black Douglases in 1455.

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Where it is

Off the A711 near Palnackie, down a farm lane south of Dalbeattie.

Close byThe rest of Dumfries and Galloway, near at hand.
  1. Streetlights Coffee HouseStreetlights Coffee HouseA family-run coffee house on King Street in Castle Douglas, with breakfasts, generous lunches, cakes and a warm welcome for dogs.6 miles 12 min by road
  2. Designs Gallery and CafeDesigns Gallery and CafeA gallery shop and cafe on King Street in Castle Douglas since 1998, with books, crafts and jewellery and a cafe with a garden.6 miles 12 min by road
  3. Gravel path lined with red roses leads to a stone urnThreave Garden and Nature Reserve7 miles 15 min by road
  4. Ruined stone tower reflected in still water beneath a grey skyThreave CastleThe great tower of the Black Douglases on an island in the River Dee near Castle Douglas, reached by a short boat trip.7 miles 13 min by road
  5. Dundrennan AbbeyDundrennan AbbeyThe Cistercian ruin where Mary spent her last night in Scotland.9 miles 15 min by road
  6. Sandyhills BeachSandyhills BeachA sheltered bay of sand below wooded hills on the Solway coast near Dalbeattie, with a sea arch, a cave and a coastal path to Rockcliffe.12 miles 19 min by road
Directions
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