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Sauchie Tower's stone walls rising behind a white cottage on a country lane.
Stirling

Sauchie Tower

A plain, tall tower house of the 1430s built by the Schaws at Sauchie, where Mary, Queen of Scots came in 1565.

Welcome

Sauchie Tower stands in the fields at Old Sauchie, north of Alloa, a tall, plain tower house of pink sandstone that has changed very little since it was built.

Sir James Schaw of Greenock, Comptroller to the King, gained the lands in 1431 when he married the heiress Mary de Annand, and he raised the tower soon after. The Schaws were among the most powerful families of medieval Scotland and served as governors of Stirling Castle, and in 1529 one of them was made hereditary Master of the King's Wine-Cellar.

Mary, Queen of Scots came here in May 1565. The outside is severe. Inside, closed to visitors, are fine fireplaces, window seats and a great hall with a flagged floor, and at the top of the turnpike stair is an unusual six-sided cap-house under its own stone roof. The tower was gutted by fire in the 1750s, and today it is seen from outside, standing quietly over the road among the trees.

A short drive awayMakers CaféScottish Autism's community café in Alloa, with soup, toasties and home baking, and a shop and gallery of autistic artists' work.6 min by roadSee itDiners at tables in the café's stone-walled room.
Before you go

Seen from outside at any time; the inside is not open.

Open
Outside, any time.
Inside
Not open.
Where it is

Old Sauchie, north of Alloa, FK10 3AN.

Close byNorth of Alloa.
  1. The roof walk inside the battlements at the top of the tower.Alloa TowerThe largest surviving keep in Scotland, the Erskines' tower at Alloa, where Mary, Queen of Scots spent part of her childhood.3 miles7 min by road
  2. Clackmannan Tower on its green hilltop under a blue sky.Clackmannan TowerA tall tower house of the 1300s on the King's Seat hill above Clackmannan, built by a kinsman of Robert the Bruce.3 miles8 min by road
  3. The stone belfry of Clackmannan's old tolbooth against a blue sky.ClackmannanThe old county town on its hill, with a tolbooth of 1592, a mercat cross and the ancient Stone of Mannan.3 miles8 min by road
  4. Wire cat sculpture atop an archway between a Saltire and burgh flagMenstrie CastleMenstrie Castle is one of the oddest members of the Clackmannanshire Tower Trail, found in the middle of a housing estate.4 miles7 min by road
  5. The bookshop's courtyard with tables and a timber shelter.The Wee Bookshop, DollarA small independent bookshop and coffee shop on Bridge Street in Dollar, strong on walking, the outdoors and Scotland.5 miles10 min by road
Directions
Diners at tables in the café's stone-walled room.RestaurantsMakers Café3.0 miles
The stone cairn and carved eagle at Blairmains, Dumyat behind.ShoppingBlairmains Farm Shop5.5 miles
Castle Campbell's tower above the wooded glen, farmland stretching away below.AttractionsCastle Campbell6.4 miles
Stone abbey tower beside a graveyard with wrought-iron railings and gravestonesAttractionsCambuskenneth Abbey7.0 miles
Wallace Monument tower rising above snow-covered trees and hills near StirlingAttractionsWallace Monument7.1 miles
The coffee house's glass front and benches.CafeLegends at the Monument7.1 miles
Airthrey Castle above a lawn at the University of Stirling, walkers passing in the sun.AttractionsUniversity of Stirling7.3 miles
The cobbled curve of Bow Street climbing towards Stirling's Old Town.AttractionsStirling City Centre7.4 miles
Caged stone monument labelled "The Beheading Stone" on a grassy hilltopAttractionsBeheading Stone7.5 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the tower, and when each is next free.

A grand stone mansion with multiple gables and chimneys stands behind a lawn set with wicker chairs, seen through overhanging leaves.Cromlix
  • To stay
  • In Stirling
  • 9 miles from Sauchie Tower
Check datesA landscape view of Whitehill on its hill: the steadings, the farmhouse and its red-roofed wing in low sun across a field of young crop.Whitehill Farm House
  • Sleeps 8
  • In Auchterarder
  • 13 miles from Sauchie Tower
Free 19–23 OctPlaces to stayEvery stay in StirlingAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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