More Castles of Scotland!

Welcome to part two of our lesser castles of Scotland series! Today we'll be looking at 3 castles that were really something special in their heyday.

Huntly Castle, not the be confused with the prison Castle Huntly in Fife, is a ruined castle in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland that was originally built by Duncan II, Earl of Fife in the late 12th century and was then known as the Peel of Strathbogie. During the wars for Scottish independence, Robert the Bruce King of Scotland stayed in the castle with Earl Duncan's family, his loyal subjects, during a period of illness before going on to win the battle of Bannockburn. Around 1314, however Earl Duncan's son David, shifted his support of Robert the Bruce to the English so the King stripped them of their castle and granted it to Sir Adam Gordon of Huntly. Sometime between then and 1496, the castle burned down and a grander castle was built in it's place, then renamed Huntly Castle in 1506. It stayed under ownership of the Gordan Clan until 1923 and is now cared for by Historic Environment Scotland.

Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress just outside of Edinburgh on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. Supposedly built by Sir George Crichton in the 1440's, the castle was passed on to King James II of Scotland in 1453 and has remained property of the crown ever since. It served as a prison for some time and in the 1500's was considered one of Scotland's most advanced artillery fortifications. A hundred years later, Blackness fell to Oliver Cromwell's invading army. Just before the turn of the 18th century, Blackness was repaired and served once again as a prison, and an ammunition depot until 1912.

Cambusnethan Priory is a derelict mansion with neo-gothic architecture built in 1820 for the Lockharts of Lee. The mansion was in use as a hotel, restaurant and mediaeval banquet hall until it burned down in 1984. In 2014, the Friends of Cambusnethan Priory was established in hopes to save the building from further decay.