Edinample Castle is a late 16th-century castle on the southern shores of Loch Earn near Balquhidder in the Stirling council area of Scotland.

The castle takes the form of a Z-plan tower house, originally built by 'Black' Duncan Campbell (Donnchadh Dubh) of Glenorchy. It is built on land acquired by the Campbells after their campaign for proscription, and subsequent demise of the MacGregors. It is said that Black Duncan pushed the castle's builder off the roof, in part to avoid paying him, but also because he omitted to construct the ramparts that had been requested. It is also said that the ghost of the builder has been seen walking on the roof.

The castle was extended in both the 18th and early 20th centuries, but fell into a state of dereliction by the early 1970s. It has now been refurbished for use as a private family home.

Edinample Castle

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Drummond Castle is located in Perthshire, Scotland. The castle is known for its gardens, described by Historic Scotland as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland." It is situated in Muthill parish, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of Crieff. The castle comprises a tower house built in the late 15th century, and a 17th-century mansion, both of which were rebuilt in Victorian times. The gardens date to the 1630s, although they too were restructured in the 19th century. The formal gardens are protected as a category A listed building, and are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. The tower house and mansion are both category B listed.

The lands of Drummond were the property of the Drummond family from the 14th century, and the original tower house was built over several years by John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond of Cargill, from about 1490. In 1605 the 4th Lord Drummond was created Earl of Perth, and added to the castle. The 2nd Earl of Perth laid out the first terraced garden around the castle in the 1630s.

The castle was sacked by the army of Oliver Cromwell in 1653, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The 4th Earl of Perth was Lord Chancellor of Scotland under King James VII. He began the mansion house in 1689, before being imprisoned following the deposition of King James by William of Orange. He later fled to the exiled Jacobite court in France. The Drummonds continued to support the Jacobite cause in the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745. The family retained control of the estate until 1750 when the Drummond properties were declared forfeit and seized by the state. The estate was managed by the Commissioners for Forfeited Estates until 1784, when it was sold to Captain James Drummond (later created 1st Baron Perth). He began a number of improvements that were continued by his daughter Sarah and her husband, The 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby (1782–1865). These included the formal gardens and terraces in the 1830s. Queen Victoria visited the gardens in 1842.

Drummond Castle passed to The 24th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (1809–1888), and then to her son, The 1st Earl of Ancaster (1830–1910). The upper stories of the tower house were rebuilt and heightened in pseudo-medieval style in 1842–53. The mansion was renovated in 1878, to designs by George Turnbull Ewing. The 3rd Earl of Ancaster and his wife, Nancy Astor (1909–1975; she was the daughter of The 2nd Viscount Astor and The Viscountess Astor), replanted the gardens in the 1950s. The castle is now the seat of The Rt Hon. The 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, the daughter and heir of The 3rd Lord Ancaster.

The castle is set on part of a prominent spine of rock known as the Gask Ridge, a geographical feature that stretches several kilometres across Perthshire, but is particularly prominent and steep-sided at the site of the castle. The tower house, or keep, is no longer used as a dwelling. It is adjoined by a later, but better preserved, gatehouse (built 1629–30). Stretching between the tower house and the edge of the ridge, it was originally intended to control access to the courtyard behind, which has a fine view over the formal gardens. To the south of the castle on its rocky outcrop are the formal gardens.

The buildings and gardens of Drummond Castle featured as backdrops in the 1995 film Rob Roy.

Drummond Castle

Dunure Castle is located on the west coast of Scotland, in South Ayrshire, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Ayr and close to the village of Dunure. Today the castle stands in ruins on a rocky promontory on the Carrick coast, overlooking the small harbour of Dunure.

The site dates from the late 13th century; the earliest charter for the lands dating from 1256, but the remains of the building are of 15th- and 16th-century origin. One tradition is that the castle was built by the Danes and another states that the Mackinnons held the castle from Alexander III, as a reward for their valour at the Battle of Largs.

The castle is the point of origin of the Kennedys of Carrick, who once ruled over much of south western Scotland and were granted the lands in 1357. Sir James Balfour described Dunure as a grate and pleasand stronge housse, the most ancient habitation of the surname of Kennedy, Lairds of Dunure, now Earles of Cassiles. This family should not be confused with the renowned American Kennedy family which came from Co. Wexford in Ireland.

In August 1563, Mary, Queen of Scots, visited the castle for three days during her third progress round the west of the country.

The Celtic name Dunure or Dunoure is said to derive from the "hill" or "fort of the yew tree".

The castle consisted of two distinct parts; a keep of an irregular shape on the top of a precipitous rock and other buildings at a lower level. The keep walls are about five feet thick and the vaults on the basement are well preserved, however most of the superstructure is entirely demolished. The keep represents the original castle, much altered. The central portion of the castle may be 15th century and was intended to form a defence to the access into the keep. The additional buildings are of a later date and contain two kitchens on the ground level, one for the castle and the other for the retainers. To the north-east stands a detached wall which may have led to a gateway. A drawbridge may have stood nearby and the chapel may have been located against the thick wall of the central part of the castle. A moat or fosse protected the approach and a wall may have also existed.

In the 1990s excavations showed that a hall house was built across the 13th century court in the 14th century.

Beneath the castle is a cavern, called the Browney's Cave which may have been a sally-port; a secret tunnel leading to the castle.

In 1429 a meeting took place at Dunure between James Campbell, representing King James I of Scotland and John Mor MacDonald, representing the Lord of the Isles. Violence broke out and MacDonald was killed. James I's efforts to contain the outrage of the Lords of the Isles by executing Campbell did not prevent a subsequent uprising by them. For three days from 4 August 1563, Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed at Dunure Castle on her Royal tour down the west coast to Glenluce Abbey then on to Whithorn Priory. She was the guest of Gilbert Kennedy, the 4th Earl of Cassilis.

Doocot
The late medieval "beehive"-shaped dovecot of Dunure Castle dates probably from the 15th century. It would have held some 200 nesting boxes and would have supplied the castle with fresh eggs and meat.

Demise
This began in the mid-17th century and by 1694 the castle is described as "wholly ruined". It is not clear whether this can be linked to the Civil War period, although local tradition suggests that Dunure had been burnt and / or blown up. A major collapse of the SE part of the keep could perhaps be linked to such activity. Recovery of building materials for the construction of the Cromwellian citadel in Ayr may also account for its ruination, as at Ardrossan Castle. Much evidence exists for the systematic dismantling of the structure for recoverable building materials including the orderly removal of slates, stone and glass. The windows were dismantled and comprehensively stripped of their lead. Remains of a localised fire and associated deposits of coal suggested that smelting of the lead took place within the room. Those dismantling the castle seem to have occupied part of the structure during their work.

The ruin subsequently saw periodic robbing of its sandstone dressings. A range of castle buildings to the S of Area 4 remained in occupation until c. 1860. Census records and reuse of some rooms demonstrate that some of the occupants were fishermen. A large midden of mussel shell gave evidence for the baiting of cod lines. Domestic refuse of the later 18th and early to mid-19th century was also recovered. The only relatively late recorded military action at Dunure consists of a short siege in 1570. A Civil War action or slighting is a further possibility, although the castle may have been abandoned by that time. The route of a stone-lined water course was located at the S end of the trench as it ran into the entrance of the Area 4 kitchen range. Groundworks to the S of the ruins located a further, well preserved section of the same water course.

Present day
The castle has been excavated and consolidated, making safe the public access to the area. The castle dominates the Kennedy Park, which has a number of facilities for visitors. There are also said to be secret Ley tunnels which connect Dunure Castle to Greenan Castle further north.

Canadian billionaire Brendan Clouston of Dunure is the Baron of Dunure (2009) as registered with the Lord Lyon King of Arms.

Dunure Castle

Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling district of central Scotland. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith. It lies 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Stirling, where the Teith flows into the River Forth. Upstream, 8 miles (13 km) further north-west, the town of Callander lies at the edge of the Trossachs, on the fringe of the Scottish Highlands.

Recent research has shown that Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c.1340–1420), the son of King Robert II of Scots, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert's stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany's son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house. In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn's rising in the mid-17th century, and during the Jacobite risings of the late 17th century and 18th century. By 1800 the castle was ruined, but restoration works were carried out in the 1880s, prior to its passing into state care in the 20th century. It is now maintained by Historic Environment Scotland.

Due to the status of its builder, Doune reflected current ideas of what a royal castle building should be. It was planned as a courtyard with ranges of buildings on each side, although only the northern and north-western buildings were completed. These comprise a large tower house over the entrance, containing the rooms of the Lord and his family, and a separate tower containing the kitchen and guest rooms. The two are linked by the great hall. The stonework is almost all from the late 14th century, with only minor repairs carried out in the 1580s. The restoration of the 1880s replaced the timber roofs and internal floors, as well as interior fittings.

The site at the confluence of the Ardoch Burn and the River Teith had been fortified by the Romans in the 1st century AD, although no remains are visible above ground. Ramparts and ditches to the south of the present castle may be the site of an earlier fortification, as the name Doune, derived from Gaelic dùn, meaning "fort", suggests. The earliest identifiable work in the castle dates from the thirteenth century, but it assumed its present form during one of the most creative and productive periods of Scottish medieval architecture, between 1375 and 1425, when numerous castles were being built and remodelled, including Dirleton and Tantallon in Lothian, and Bothwell in Lanarkshire.

Regent Albany
In 1361, Robert Stewart (c.1340–1420), son of King Robert II (reigned 1371–1390), and brother of King Robert III (reigned 1390–1406), was created Earl of Menteith, and was granted the lands on which Doune Castle now stands. Building may have started any time after this, and the castle was at least partially complete in 1381, when a charter was sealed here. Robert was appointed Regent in 1388 for his elderly father, and continued to hold effective power during the reign of his infirm brother. He was created Duke of Albany in 1398. In 1406, Robert III's successor, James I, was captured by the English, and Albany became Regent once more. After this time, the number of charters issued at Doune suggest that the castle became a favoured residence.

Royal retreat
Albany died in 1420, and Doune, the dukedom of Albany, and the Regency all passed to his son Murdoch (1362–1425). The ransom for James I was finally paid to the English, and the King returned in 1424, taking immediate steps to gain control of his kingdom. Albany and two of his sons were imprisoned for treason, and then executed in May 1425. Doune Castle became a royal possession, under an appointed Captain, or Keeper, and served as a retreat and hunting lodge for the Scottish monarchs. It was also used as a dower house by Mary of Guelders (c.1434–1463), Margaret of Denmark (1456–1486), and Margaret Tudor (1489–1541), the widowed consorts of James II, James III and James IV respectively.

In 1528, Margaret Tudor, now Regent of Scotland for her infant son James V, married Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven, a descendant of Albany. His brother, Sir James Stewart (c.1513–1554), was made Captain of Doune Castle, and Sir James' son, also James (c.1529–1590), was created Lord Doune in 1570. Lord Doune's son, another James (c.1565–1592), married Elizabeth Stuart, 2nd Countess of Moray around 1580, becoming Earl of Moray himself. The castle thus came to be the seat of its keepers, the Earls of Moray, who owned it until the 20th century.

Mary, Queen of Scots, (reigned 1542–1567) stayed at Doune on several occasions, occupying the suite of rooms above the kitchen. Doune was held by forces loyal to Mary during the brief civil war which followed her forced abdication in 1567, but the garrison surrendered to the Regent, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, in 1570, after a three-day blockade. George Buchanan and Duncan Nairn, Deputy Sherriff of Stirling presided over the torture and interrogation of a messenger, John Moon, at Doune on 4 October 1570. Moon was carrying letters to Mary, Queen of Scots and Mary Seton.

King James VI visited Doune on occasion, and in 1581 authorised £300 to be spent on repairs and improvements, the works being carried out by the master mason Michael Ewing under the supervision of Robert Drummond of Carnock, Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland. In 1593, a plot against James was discovered, and the King surprised the conspirators, who included the Earls of Montrose and Gowrie, at Doune Castle.

Ruin and restoration
The castle deteriorated through the 18th century, and by 1800 Doune was a roofless ruin. It remained so until the 1880s, when George Stuart, 14th Earl of Moray (1816–1895) began repair works. The timber roofs were replaced, and the interiors, including the panelling in the Lord's Hall, were installed. The castle is now maintained by Historic Environment Scotland, having been donated to a predecessor organisation by Douglas Stuart, 20th Earl of Moray, in 1984, and is open to the public. The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is a Category A listed building, the highest levels of protection for nationally important built heritage in Scotland.