Lochmaben Castle

Lochmaben Castle stands in the small town of Lochmaben, within Dumfries and Galloway. Built by Edward I in the 14th century, it replaced an earlier motte-and-bailey fortress raised by the Bruce family around 1160. The new stone castle rose at the south end of Castle Loch, its thick walls and strong defences still visible today. Later, in 1383–84, Archibald Douglas and his allies captured the castle after a nine-day siege and destroyed it completely. The Earls of March then held the site before it passed to Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, in the 15th century. The castle’s later years saw frequent sieges and shifts of power. James IV visited in 1504 and played cards with Lord Dacre in a timber-roofed hall built by mason Gluffar. Regent Arran besieged it in 1545 with artillery brought from Edinburgh Castle, while Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley arrived in 1565 after the Chaseabout Raid. James VI besieged the castle twice, once in 1588 when five defenders were hanged, and again in 1592 when Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, briefly seized it disguised as a woman. Today the ruins sit beside Castle Loch, their broken walls and earthworks marking centuries of conflict. Visitors walk among the remains of the great hall and the strong defensive lines that once guarded the loch. The site is quiet now, protected as a scheduled monument, yet it still tells the story of power struggles in the Scottish borders.