Castle Campbell

Castle Campbell stands above Dollar in Clackmannanshire, a medieval fortress on a ridge between deep gorges. Built around 1430 for the Stewart lords, it became the lowland home of the Campbells in 1460 when Colin Campbell, first Earl of Argyll, married Isabel Stewart. The name was changed from Castle Gloom to Campbell in 1490 by act of parliament, showing how the family’s power grew from Argyll into central Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1563 and remarked that the place reminded her of home. The castle’s 15th-century tower and later ranges show how the family expanded their seat. The south range included state rooms with large windows looking over the Devon Valley, while the east range added guest chambers and a two-arched loggia in the 1590s. In 1556 John Knox preached here, and in 1564 he met the Earl of Argyll at the castle. By 1595 an inventory listed forty-seven beds, tapestries and carpets throughout the rooms. Visitors today find a roofless but largely intact tower and the ruins of the south and east ranges. The site overlooks Dollar Glen, where the National Trust for Scotland cares for the glen. Excavations have uncovered charred timbers from the 1654 burning by Royalist forces. The ridge offers views across the valley, and the terraced gardens recall the castle’s former grandeur.