Which Scotish Castles

If it has windows on the ground floor, skinny walls, and a carnival inside it ain't much of a castle so Stirling's out. If you want one that utilizes terrain as part of the overall defense, it's back in. Overall, it's pretty much like Edinburgh. The other two are akin to the Welsh castles - - pretty darn impressive.

Alnwick Castle (in Northumberland, not Scotland) is interesting from the outside, although I don't remember being able to access all of the outside. The inside is a "stately home," full of a rich family's possessions. It doesn't feel medieval at all. The garden, however, is very interesting. We enjoyed more the two ruined castles nearby on the coast - Warkworth and Dunstanburgh. Also in the area, even more ruined, are Darleton and Tantallon Castles, both located east of Edinburgh on the south side of the bay ...For a ruined castle, you might enjoy Doune Castle.

Look up the Historic Scotland site. It has pretty good photos of castles and palaces that you might like to see. We went to Lithlingow Palace which is really impressive and very photogenic. It is Mary Queen of Scots era and I think was one of the first places in Great Britain to have glass windows. There are some real Monty Python-esque castles to the south in Galloway and Dumphries. Threave Castle is a Tower on an island. You have to be rowed over to visit. A lot of the real midieval history took place closer to the Borders. A lot of the Scottish castles that are "real" are just walls now.

I really like Stirling. I disagree with Ed and think it's quite different from Edinburgh. The similarity is that it sits on volcanic plug. But the geography around the castle is so different. The color of the great hall is fascinating and makes pictures from outside town very spectacular. I have a great one that was on the north side of town. I used a telephoto lens and had a field in front that was similar in color. I love it. Also, good gardens. Nice statuary of the king James V(I think) and others. And the town is good. Pam

Hi, How long have you got and if you like castles why not stay in one see www.celticcastles.com I like all the castles you mention I think I would choose Alnwick as it has so much to offer. Not just the nice town but the ancient buildings. The castle, part of Harry Potter filmed here, theres a Regimental Museum, theres the famous and amazing gardens with lots of really cool water features (no seriously they are amazing ) and the poison garden. Also it has I believe the worlds biggest tree house and of course theres the castle keep and with the present owners the Earl of Northumberland still living there and his relatives with names like Harry Hotspur whats not to like? If your travelling to Alnwick you may as well also visit Warkworth and if you have time walk to the lonely, moody, Dunstanburgh castle...

Don't skip Edinburgh Castle though, it's impressive, historic, and includes a lot to see and do inside the walls.