Turnberry Castle

Turnberry Castle is a fragmentary ruin on the coast of Kirkoswald parish, near Maybole in Ayrshire, Scotland. Situated at the extremity of the lower peninsula within the parish, it was the seat of the Earls of Carrick. Turnberry Castle is adjacent to Turnberry Golf Course.

As to when or by whom Turnberry was built there seems to be no authentic record; but it was originally a stronghold of the Lords of Galloway, and thence passed into the possession of the Earls of Carrick around the beginning of the 13th century. In the late 13th century the castle belonged to Marjorie, the widowed Countess of Carrick. According to medieval legend, Marjorie held the visiting knight Robert de Brus captive until he agreed to marry her. The marriage between Marjorie and Robert in 1271 conveyed to him both the castle and the earldom. Their first son, also named Robert, went on to become "Robert the Bruce", the King of Scots. Although it is unknown whether Turnberry was his actual birthplace, the fact that he spent his boyhood residing in the castle is not in doubt.

Turnberry Castle is associated with two significant historical events, both of which are directly connected to Robert the Bruce. On 20 September 1286, several Scottish barons who supported the title of the Bruce as successor of the crown met secretly at Turnberry Castle. Robert was only 12 years old at the time. The second event was the attempt made by Robert in the spring of 1307, to recover the castle from the English, who occupied it at the time. This attempt was only partially successful, although ultimately it led to the withdrawal of the English soldiers. His attempt to reclaim the castle marked the beginning of a long road, ending with Robert's eventual success at Bannockburn.

It was Robert the Bruce who ordered the destruction (slighting) of the castle in 1310, to prevent it from falling once again into the hands of the English. The castle was nearly destroyed; the ruins that remain are part of the original castle as it does not appear to have been rebuilt.

There is little left of the old buildings today. Turnberry Castle is surrounded on three sides by the sea, and the landward side is occupied by a golf resort. The ruin has been affected by the actions of centuries of severe weather and erosion by the sea, leaving little more than its lower vaults and cellars intact.

Text adapted from “Turnberry Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Turnberry Castle ranks #2,355 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #76 of the 168 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1250, it is older than 69% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 861 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,306 times in the last 60 days, more than 82% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Glasgow, 70 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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