Baikie Castle

Baikie Castle stood on the edge of the old Loch of Baikie in Angus, a lowland county in eastern Scotland. Built in the 13th century, it belonged first to the Fenton family for two centuries before passing to the powerful Lyon family of Glamis. The castle was defended by a wide moat fed by the loch, and visitors crossed a stone causeway and drawbridge to reach its entrance. By the 19th century no trace of the walls remained above ground. The loch itself had been drained long before, leaving only flat fields where the water once lay. The site still shows the shape of the moat and causeway, marking where the castle once stood. Old maps and estate plans from the 18th and 19th centuries record its layout and the families who lived there. Local historians recognise the castle as an important link in the region’s medieval power structure. Its story illustrates how land and water shaped defence and settlement in Angus during the Middle Ages. Today the field beside the old causeway is quiet and open. A low rise in the grass hints at the moat’s curve, while walkers can follow faint lines in the soil that once carried the drawbridge. The surrounding farmland stretches away, giving a sense of the castle’s former prominence. Visitors stand where medieval lords once held court, now only the land remembering their presence.