Lochnaw Castle

Lochnaw Castle stands beside Lochnaw Loch in Dumfries and Galloway, five miles from Stranraer. It is a 16th-century tower house with a central square keep rising five storeys. The castle shows four building periods: the original keep, 17th- and 18th-century domestic wings, and a later mansion that was removed. A plaque on the keep’s south-east wall bears the date 1486. A small chapel built in 1704 was demolished around 1953.

The site began as a royal castle on an island in the loch, granted to the Agnew family in 1363. In 1390 it was sacked by Archibald the Grim, third Earl of Douglas, and left in ruins. The Agnews moved to the new castle and lived there until 1948. The present building remains a private home beside the water.

Visitors see the tall keep with its 1486 plaque and the remains of later domestic ranges. The ruined island castle lies a short walk away across the loch. The setting is quiet, with the water and surrounding land giving a sense of the castle’s long history.