What is recorded here

Dounreay Castle stands as a ruined L-plan tower in Caithness, built in the second half of the 16th century with walls thick enough to resist both siege and time. William Sinclair of Dunbeath owned it in 1614, when the Earl of Caithness’s brother laid siege to its stones, yet the castle survived to become one of the Earl’s own lodgings by 1726. People lived inside until 1863, filling its cellars, halls and stairways with ordinary life before the roof fell away. Today the north-west angle has collapsed and the interior lies buried under fallen masonry, but the shot-holes, aumbries and vaulted stair still mark a house that outlasted the hands which built it.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Dounreay Castle as Castle (medieval). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 10m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Dounreay Castle was built in the 13th century by the Clan Mackay, a powerful Highland clan in northern Scotland. It is remembered as a strategic stronghold in the historic region of Easter Ross and as an example of medieval Scottish castle architecture.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.