Red Castle, Angus

Red Castle of Lunan is a ruined fortified house on the coast of Angus, Scotland. It stands on high ground overlooking Lunan Bay on the North Sea coast, about four miles south-southwest of Montrose. The castle is clearly visible from the A92 road and the Edinburgh to Aberdeen railway line. Only part of a fifteenth-century rectangular tower and a thick east curtain wall remain today. The tower is in precarious condition, perched on the edge of the hill above the bay and described as being in imminent danger of collapse in 1999. The castle has a long history tied to Scottish nobility and conflict. Built originally for King William the Lion in the late twelfth century, it was later granted to Walter de Berkeley, the Great Chamberlain, in 1194. The name ‘Red Castle’ comes from its red sandstone, referred to as rubeum castrum in 1286 deeds. In 1579, James Gray laid siege to the castle for two years after being rejected by Lady Elizabeth Beaton. King James VI intervened, ordering troops to relieve the siege and expel Gray. Visitors find the remains of the fifteenth-century keep and the surrounding wall, possibly dating from the thirteenth century. The site offers views over Lunan Bay and the mouth of the Lunan Water to the north. A midden below the castle is slowly eroding, revealing artefacts now kept in Montrose Museum. The castle is protected as a scheduled monument, standing as a reminder of Scotland’s medieval past.