Loch Doon Castle - Dalmellington's moving castle
5 MayLoch Doon Castle near Dalmellington is really unusual in that it was rebuilt in the 20th Century.
It originally stood on an island in the loch, where it was famous for being almost impossible to besiege (although this was successfully done at least a couple of times) but was moved to the shore in the 1930s when the loch was dammed as part of the Galloway hydro-electric scheme.
The castle was built in the 13th Century by the Bruce Earls of Carrick, but people have lived round the area for much longer - ancient canoes and weapons found nearby are now in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.
It was seized by the English but retaken in 1314 and was later one of David II's six strongholds which held out against the English-backed pretender Edward Balliol.
The castle then passed to the Kennedy family, was taken by William 8th Earl of Douglas around 1446, returned to Kennedy hands, was taken by William Crawford of Lochmores in 1511 and destroyed, and then was later restored and re-occupied until it was finally abandoned in the 17th Century.
Now it's your turn!
So there you are. A very brief history of Loch Doon Castle. But there's much, much more to know about this ancient building.
And that's where you come in. If you're a keen local historian or just know a bit about the subject, why not add your own article here in Memories on s1dalmellington?
Maybe you have some great old local pictures or even some video of more recent events - remember, history doesn't need to be in black and white! It's good to bring back memories of just a few years ago, too.
s1dalmellington is your site - so use it!
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