Bothwell Castle
★★★☆☆
Attribution: By Otter - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4448273
Location
Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Built
13th century
The mighty medieval castle of Bothwell was built on a bluff above a bend in the River Clyde. Building was started by Walter of Moray some time in the latter half of the 1200s.
Invasion and repeated siege meant that the original design of the castle was never completed and what you see today is largely the work of the Earls of Douglas in the years around 1400.
Bothwell Castle is roughly rectangular in shape. Its west end is occupied by the remains of the massive circular donjon or keep. The east end of the castle comprises the great hall and the south east tower. The angle behind the great hall was, until about 1700, home to the north east tower, a large square tower built in about 1400 to replace the siege-damaged donjon and considerably taller than the surviving south east tower. Only its base survives.
Invasion and repeated siege meant that the original design of the castle was never completed and what you see today is largely the work of the Earls of Douglas in the years around 1400.
Bothwell Castle is roughly rectangular in shape. Its west end is occupied by the remains of the massive circular donjon or keep. The east end of the castle comprises the great hall and the south east tower. The angle behind the great hall was, until about 1700, home to the north east tower, a large square tower built in about 1400 to replace the siege-damaged donjon and considerably taller than the surviving south east tower. Only its base survives.
Added by Dale Rys
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Reviews and impressions
Dale Rys
It's location right above the river is amazing..really wonderful castle all in all.