Kinmuck Castle

Kinmuck Castle stands in Aberdeenshire, about six and a half kilometres north-east of Ellon. The remains lie close to Mains of Kinmuck on low ground once chosen for defence. The site is known by several names, including Castle of Kinmuck and Kermuck Castle, though locals favour the first spelling. Thomas Kennedy, Constable of Aberdeen, owned the castle in the early 15th century. In 1413 he took stone from Kinmuck to build the old Ellon Castle. The castle’s footprint is marked by a circular ditch that once enclosed an area forty metres wide. Traces of the ditch survive, though it was filled in during the 19th century. The ditch formed part of the original earthworks that defended the site. No upstanding masonry remains above ground today. Archaeologists recognise the faint outline of the defences in aerial photographs. Visitors find a quiet field with only grass and a few low bumps to show where walls once stood. The flat ground inside the ditch is easy to walk across. Nearby farm tracks lead to the spot from Ellon. The landscape is open farmland with distant views to the hills. The absence of modern buildings keeps the scene close to what Kennedy would have seen.