Castles and forts in Orkney Islands
The Discover Alone map has 53 castles and forts in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Below are the 53 with the most written about them, pictures first. Every one has its own page with directions and places nearby.
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Wyre, Cubbie Roo's CastleCastle (medieval)Cubbie Roo's Castle stands in Orkney as a medieval ruin, its stones marked by time rather than royal pride. The name…
24 pound gun on Martello TowerCastle, fort or tower24 pound gun on Martello Tower is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the gun still points at…
Twelve hour tower on RousayCastle, fort or towerTwelve hour tower on Rousay is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the tower marked a fleeting…
Sweyn's Castle - burnt mound (Prehistoric)Archaeological placeSweyn's Castle marks a prehistoric burnt mound in Orkney Islands, where heat and stone still touch beneath the grass.…
Phone kiosk on Balfour Castle pierCastle, fort or towerPhone kiosk on Balfour Castle pier is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the red box guarded…
North Ronaldsay lighthouse and communications towerCastle, fort or towerNorth Ronaldsay lighthouse and communications tower is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the…
North east tower of Earl's PalaceCastle, fort or towerNorth east tower of Earl's Palace is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps it stood as a…
Mu Geos and Castle Rock from the SeaCastle, fort or towerMu Geos and Castle Rock from the Sea is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps sailors saw the…
Martello TowerCastle, fort or towerMartello towers are round coastal forts built across the British Empire after the French Revolutionary Wars, using…
Intricate stonework on Balfour coastal towerCastle, fort or towerIntricate stonework on Balfour coastal tower is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the stones…
Innan Neb gun battery and observation towerCastle, fort or towerInnan Neb gun battery and observation tower is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the gun…
Earl's PalaceCastleEarl's Palace stands in Orkney Islands, Scotland, named for the earls who may have ruled there. Its palace title…
Drinks are served in the Gatehouse of Balfour CastleCastle, fort or towerDrinks are served in the Gatehouse of Balfour Castle is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps…
Disused mill at start of footpath to Castle O' BurrianCastle, fort or towerDisused mill at start of footpath to Castle O' Burrian is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps…
Cubbie Roo's CastleCastleCubbie Roo's Castle on Wyre is the oldest surviving medieval castle in Scotland, built in the mid-12th century by…
Cliffs on way to Castle O' BurrianCastle, fort or towerCliffs on way to Castle O' Burrian is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the cliffs are the…
Castle of YesnabyCastle, fort or towerCastle of Yesnaby is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the castle watched the water, kept a…
Castle O' Burrian, Westray, Orkney IslandsCastle, fort or towerCastle O' Burrian, Westray, Orkney Islands is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps its stones…
Castle o'Burrian, WestrayCastle, fort or towerCastle o'Burrian, Westray is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps its stones still hold the…
Castle O' BurrianCastle, fort or towerCastle O' Burrian is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps its stones still hold the shape of…
Castle BloodyArchaeological placeCastle Bloody is a prominent Orkney mound with a visible chamber and passages, yet its true age and purpose still argue…
Burn of LushanCastle (medieval)Burn of Lushan stands in Orkney Islands as a medieval castle, its stones still tied to the coast though time has worn…
Balfour Castle and a seaside "folly"Castle, fort or towerBalfour Castle and a seaside "folly" is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps the castle stood…
Control "Tower", Westray AirfieldCastle, fort or towerControl "Tower", Westray Airfield is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps it watched the north…
The lookout tower on Brough NessCastle, fort or towerThe lookout tower on Brough Ness is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps it watched for ships…
Ornate coastal tower by Balfour CastleCastle, fort or towerOrnate coastal tower by Balfour Castle is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps it watched the…
Control Tower at Kirkwall AirportCastle, fort or towerControl Tower at Kirkwall Airport is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps it watched storms…
Observation Tower, Rerwick HeadCastle, fort or towerObservation Tower, Rerwick Head is a castle, fort or tower in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps it watched for ships or…
Gairsay, Langskaill HouseCastle (medieval)Languid winds still bend the grass around Langskaill House, a medieval castle on Gairsay. Whether kings, farmers or…
Skaill, Castle of SnusgarCastle (medieval)(possible)Snusgar may have been a castle, or may have been nothing at all. The name survives in a database field, not in stone.…
North Gaulton CastleCastle, fort or towerA named place photographed at this map point in Orkney Islands.- Weems Castle, BrochArchaeological placeWeems Castle and its broch still stand in Orkney Islands, though no exact date or builder survives in the facts…
- The CastleArchaeological placeKirkwall Castle, built by Henry Sinclair in the 14th century, stood at the corner of Broad Street and Castle Street…
- South Ronaldsay, HalcroCastle (medieval)Halcro stands on South Ronaldsay as a medieval castle, its stones still catching Orkney wind long after the builders…
- South Ronaldsay, Castle of BurwickCist(s) (period Unassigned), Fort (iron Age), Settlement (period Unassigned)South Ronaldsay, Castle of Burwick holds an Iron Age fort beside cists and settlement remains, marking a long human…
- South Ronaldsay, Castle GrimnessCastle (medieval)(possible)South Ronaldsay, Castle Grimness may have been a medieval castle, though no surviving structure confirms the claim. The…
- Site of Halcro Castle (C13)Archaeological placeHalcro Castle rose in Orkney during the thirteenth century, a sharp-edged warning against the sea and sky. Its stones…
- Site of Castle Bloody (Iron Age broch / Medieval castle)Archaeological placeCastle Bloody stands in Orkney Islands, Scotland, layering an Iron Age broch beneath a medieval castle. The name…
- Rousay, Westside, the WirkHall (medieval), Tower House (medieval)Westside on Rousay still carries the shape of a medieval hall and tower house, though much of the detail has slipped…
- Kirkwall, CastleCastle (medieval)Kirkwall Castle stands in Orkney as a medieval fortress shaped by tidal waters and human ambition. Its walls mark the…
- EllibisterCastle (medieval)Ellibister stands as a medieval castle in Orkney Islands, Scotland, where ancient stone still touches the sky. The…
- Eday, 'the Castle', West SideCastle (medieval)(possible)Eday, 'the Castle', West Side remains a possible medieval castle on the Orkney Islands, its identity more imagined than…
- Eday, Sealskerry BayCastle (medieval)(possible), Settlement (period Unknown), Unidentified Pottery (medieval)Sealskerry Bay on Eday may have held a medieval castle, though no wall still stands to prove it. The bay keeps medieval…
- Eday, Castle of Stackel BraeCastle (medieval)(possible)Stackel Brae on Eday may have hosted a medieval castle, though no standing wall confirms the claim. The name suggests a…
- DamsayCastle (medieval)Damsay is a medieval castle in Orkney Islands, Scotland, where ancient walls still stand beside the sea. The exact…
- Castle of Sand Geo, CopinsayFort (prehistoric), Axehead (stone)(prehistoric)Castle of Sand Geo stands on Copinsay as a prehistoric fort, its name admitting that tide and time keep claiming back…
- Castle of Burwick - promontory fort (ruins)CastleCastle of Burwick stands in Orkney Islands, Scotland, where a promontory fort left behind ruins instead of a finished…
- Castle Bloody, QuholmBroch (iron Age)(possible), Castle (medieval)(possible), Cist(s) (period Unassigned)(possible)Castle Bloody, Quholm rises in Orkney as a possible Iron Age broch later reused as a medieval castle, its layers still…
- Bu of CairstonCastle (medieval)Cairston belonged to a family of Gordons from at least the 1620s, but the castle may be older. The Orkneyinga Saga…
- Castle SnusgarArchaeological placeCastle Snusgar is an archaeological place in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Perhaps medieval hands shaped its stones before…
- Westray, Noltland CastleTower House (16th Century)No visible trace remains at Noltland, Westray. The coordinate points to grass, soil or forgotten stone rather than a…
- Castle HoweCastle (norse), Settlement (later Prehistoric)Castle Howe stands in Orkney Islands, Scotland, marked as a Norse castle above a later prehistoric settlement. The…
- Bu of Cairston CastleArchaeological placeCairston Castle stands in Orkney Islands as a ruined castle, not a vague castle-shaped mound. Bu is a separate living…