Cruggleton Castle

Cruggleton Castle ruins are located at Cruggleton Point, in the Machers Penisula in southwest Scotland. It stands on the 130 feet high cliff edge of a promontory around 3 miles east of Whithorn (Scottish Gaelic: Taigh Mhàrtainn) and just under four miles south-east of the village of Sorbie, Wigtownshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Soirbidh, Siorrachd Bhaile na h-Ùige, Alba). The earliest stone tower and curtain wall was built between the late 13th and early 15th centuries. This was on the site of a previous motte and a timber tower. Excavations have revealed that the site on which it stands has been used for many centuries and the remains of a late Iron Age hut circle was discovered.

Cruggleton Castle is accessible along a coastal path from Galloway House and is known locally as 'The Arch' due to a distinctive feature of the ruin clearly visible from the nearby B7063 Garlieston to Isle of Whithorn road. The remains that can be seen today include a narrow section of barrel vaulting in what was the tower and part of the curtain wall. The foundations of a number of other buildings can be seen across the site. The outline of the motte remains visible, measuring around 102ft by 95 ft, as is a broad ditch across the promontory, about 160 ft west of the ruins. It is thought Cruggleton was once the residence of the Earls of Galloway. 

Link and Image: The Douglas Archives - Cruggleton Castle and image is courtesy of their website.