Lochmaben Castle was originally a motte-and-bailey castle built south of the current castle in c. 1160 by the Bruce family, Lords of Annandale. King Edward replaced it with a much sturdier structure at the south end of Castle Loch around 1300 and its remains still show the massive strength of its defences. Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway, with the assistance of the Earls of March and Douglas, after a siege of nine days, took Lochmaben Castle from the English and 'razed it to the ground' in 1384.

Lochmaben Castle remained important and had a turbulent history until some time after the early 17th century by which time it had seen its last siege and was gradually abandoned. The castle is now protected as a scheduled monument.

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Founded: c. 1300
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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User Reviews

Jennifer Hill (8 months ago)
Lovely 5k walk with beautiful woodlands and views of the lock
Jenbluebell (2 years ago)
This place is beautiful. The whole loch area is beautiful and well managed, and on the way round a lovely little area with fairy art and doors. As for the castle: Yes you can't access the ruins as it's unsafe and yes it's a ruin, it's clearly mentioned on the information for the area, however you can still walk around it and look at it and get a feel of the history of it. There is also lots of information boards up which are great, telling you about the history of the castle. If you are like me and spiritual and love old history and castles, and the feel and energy of places and not loads of people around, then it's for you, no one else was there when we were. If you are expecting something big that you can get inside and more people around, it's not for you. We had it to ourselves, we are from Yorkshire and love it here.
Dave Siggens (3 years ago)
It has a fence around it currently due to falling high level bricks. But worth a trip out to the loch if your after some peace and quiet. Am from Newcastle and drove up here to spend 10 mins out the car . Will make it longer the next time.
Shaz McCreadie (3 years ago)
Not a lot to see as the castle is in ruins. When I say ruins I mean a couple of walls and a few piles of rubble. Very little information on the castle itself. It is in the middle of nowhere so please don't expect public toilets or tea room. The walk around the castle loch was very enjoyable but we do love a walk, the ground was flat and whilst boggy in places all walk ways were dry.
Garry Boyd (3 years ago)
Nice wee place for a walk, if the suns out some picnic tables nearby and also got the 3 mile castle loch circuit walk to tackle. Although surrounded by Herris fence for safety reasons it's easy enough to get close to structure if you want.
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