Summary

A Scheduled Ancient Monument and Category A listed medieval courtyard castle near the village of Doune in Stirling council area, built in its present form between approximately 1375 and 1425 by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany and Regent of Scotland, comprising a gate-tower over the entrance, a Great Hall, and a kitchen tower linked around a courtyard; maintained by Historic Environment Scotland; used as a filming location for Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Ivanhoe (MGM, 1952), Game of Thrones (HBO, Season 1, 2011), Outlander (Starz, 2014 onwards), and Outlaw King (Netflix, 2018).

About this location

Doune Castle stands at the confluence of the Ardoch Burn and the River Teith, approximately eight miles north-west of Stirling in central Scotland. The castle’s name derives from the Gaelic dùn, meaning fort, suggesting a prehistoric site; the earliest identifiable masonry dates from the 13th century, but the castle was rebuilt in its current, largely intact form during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Construction was directed by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c.1340–1420), who served as Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death and was a son of Robert II. Albany’s stronghold reflects contemporary Scottish ideas of what a royal residence should be, with a planned courtyard arrangement, although only the northern and north-western ranges were completed before work stopped.

The principal element is the gate-tower, which doubles as the lord’s residential tower and rises directly above the main entrance. The tower contains private rooms for Albany and his family at upper levels, including a great chamber, a solar, and a small kitchen. The kitchen tower to the west is essentially a separate tower house, containing a large vaulted kitchen at hall level — one of the best-appointed castle kitchens of its period in Scotland, with a fireplace spanning five and a half metres — and two storeys of guest accommodation above, referred to as the Royal Apartments, a suite suitable for royal visitors. The two towers are connected by the Great Hall, measuring 20 by 8 metres and rising 12 metres to its timber roof. The stonework throughout is of coursed sandstone rubble with dressings in Ballengeich stone; almost all of it dates from the late 14th century.

The castle passed to the Scottish Crown in 1425 when Albany’s son Murdoch was executed for treason by James I; it subsequently served as a royal hunting lodge and dower house. In the later 16th century it came into the possession of the Earls of Moray. Military use during the Jacobite risings of the early 18th century was followed by steady deterioration; by 1800 Doune was roofless. The 14th Earl of Moray undertook restoration works in the 1880s, replacing the timber roofs and installing the present interior panelling. In 1984, the 20th Earl donated the castle to a predecessor organisation of Historic Environment Scotland, which now maintains and opens it to the public.

The castle is among the most-filmed historic buildings in Scotland. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Python Pictures/Michael White, 1975, directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman as King Arthur) used different parts of Doune to depict multiple fictional castles in the film: the east wall for Castle Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh’s French garrison; the Great Hall for the Knights Who Say Ni and the “Knights of the Round Table” Camelot sequence; and the courtyard and Duchess’s hall for the Swamp Castle scenes. Ivanhoe (MGM, 1952, directed by Richard Thorpe, starring Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor) also used the castle. Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011–2019, based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire) used Doune as Winterfell in its first season before production moved to purpose-built sets. Outlander (Starz, 2014 onwards, produced by Sony Pictures Television, based on Diana Gabaldon’s novels, starring Caitríona Balfe) depicted the castle as the fictional Castle Leoch throughout the series. Outlaw King (Netflix, 2018, directed by David Mackenzie, starring Chris Pine as Robert the Bruce) used the castle as a location.