Lochleven Castle

Lochleven Castle stands on a small island in the loch that shares its name, a short ferry crossing from Kinross in the summer season. A castle is thought to have occupied the island by the middle of the thirteenth century, though the tower house at its heart dates from around 1300. That keep rose to five storeys above a vaulted basement, and a curtain wall enclosing the courtyard may have been raised during the English occupation of the early fourteenth century. In the late 1300s the estate passed to the Douglas family, who held it for roughly three centuries; around 1550 they added the round Glassin Tower at the south-east corner, fitted with gunholes and an oriel window. The castle is best known as the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots. Held here from June 1567, she miscarried twins, was compelled to abdicate, and finally escaped in May 1568 with help from members of the Douglas household. After 1588 the castle fell out of regular use, and by the 1670s it had become an ornamental feature in the grounds of nearby Kinross House. It is now cared for by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.