Scotland · 16th century
Edzell Castle is a ruined 16th-century castle, with an early-17th-century walled garden. It is located close to Edzell, and is around 5 miles (8 km) north of Brechin, in Angus, Scotland. Edzell Castle was begun around 1520 by David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford, and expanded by his son, Sir David Lindsay, Lord Edzell, who also laid out the garden in 1604. The castle saw little military action, and was, in its design, construction and use, more of a country house than a defensive structure. It was briefly occupied by English troops during Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Scotland in 1651. In 1715 it was sold by the Lindsay family, and eventually came into the ownership of the Earl of Dalhousie.
It was given into state care in the 1930s, and is now a visitor attraction run by Historic Environment Scotland (open all year; entrance charge). The castle consists of the original tower house and building ranges around a courtyard. The adjacent Renaissance walled garden, incorporating intricate relief carvings, is unique in Scotland. It was replanted in the 1930s, and is considered to have links to esoteric traditions, including Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.
Text adapted from “Edzell Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Edzell Castle ranks #2,625 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #91 of the 226 mapped in Scotland. Founded 1520, it is older than 42% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 891 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,164 times in the last 60 days, more than 54% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Dundee, 43 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.
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