Ruins of an 11th Century Castle in Perthshire
Located in Perthshire, Scotland, Whitefield Castle was first built in the 1100s and further expanded in the 1500s. Said to have originally been a hunting lodge, the castle is in a heavily ruined state, but with some fantastic stone work and features still on display.
The walk to the castle is entirely uphill and over uneven ground, but the views make up for the toil. We were also rewarded for our efforts with some beautiful examples of Perthshire drystone. Single skin dykes like these are a fairly uncommon sight. How carefully stacked they must be to last as long as they have.
Despite having panoramic views of the Perthshire countryside, Whitefield Castle manages to remain out of sight until you are very close, and announces itself by appearing in the near distance as an unassuming, small stone building.
Up close, much of the external stone work is still in great condition with so many details still visible. Within the stone walls, you can still see arrow slits and gun loops, as well as various other carved stone features. There’s a couple of holes made by cannonballs too.
Once we had found the entrance to the castle, we made our way (carefully) inside, surprised to see a still-standing staircase. Climbing the stairs revealed an intricate, well-preserved vaulted ceiling, easily some of the most impressive stonework I have ever seen in a ruin in Scotland. It's hard to believe that structures like this are sitting, relatively unknown, in Scotland's landscapes.
