Customer Reviews

Ancestral Castles of Scotland

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The book provides not only great color long shot photos of various Scottish castles, but also well-chosen detail shots that enrich the reading experience. You'll see marriage stones -- where one partner's coat of arms was chiseled off; lavish dining rooms -- with the door to the dungeon in plain view; and foreboding stairways with statues of St. George -- or is it Joan of Arc! -- overlooking. The text is lively and informative, with about 3 1/2 pages of text for each castle, much of it focusing on the human drama inside the walls. This is a wonderful overview, covering 27 castles in all. I wish there was room to cover more, but I was inspired to further research several of the castles.

If you are planning on a trip to Scotland, or just interested in castles, this is a useful directory. It does not cover all the castles in Scotland (for example, it does not include the castle in Edinburgh), but concentrates on family castles associated with particular clans. Some are magnificent structures, such as Dunrobin, the home of the Sutherlands. Others, like Ardvreck Castle have fallen into ruins. The book provides photographs and short histories. You might dream of owning a castle, but the maintenance would bankrupt most people. There is a useful map showing the locations of the castles featured in the book.

See also Scotland and Her Tartans for information on the various Scotish clans. See also The Scottish Highlanders: A Personal View, and other references.