Tibbers Castle

Tibbers Castle stands on a ridge above the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway. It is a motte-and-bailey ruin with earthworks and fragments of stone walls. The site overlooks a historic ford used long before the castle was built. To the east lies the small village of Carronbridge, and to the north-west stands Drumlanrig Castle, a 16th-century country house. The castle was first mentioned in 1298, though it may have begun as a timber fort in the 12th or 13th century. Over the centuries it passed through the hands of Scottish earls and the Crown. The castle’s story is tied to Scotland’s turbulent medieval wars. It was captured by Robert the Bruce in 1306, then retaken by the English, who installed a garrison of 54 men. Later it became an administrative centre under the Earls of Moray. By the 18th century the site was used for farming, and parts were demolished for building materials. Archaeologists have found coins from Edward II’s reign and a dagger from the early 15th century. Visitors walk among grassy ramparts and low stone remains. The motte, once topped by a rectangular enclosure with four round towers, now shows only broken walls and foundations. Geophysical surveys have revealed buried timber buildings and a well. The outer baileys stretch over 300 metres, enclosed by wide ramparts still visible today. The view across the Nith valley recalls the castle’s strategic position guarding a crossing point.