Cairns Castle, Livingston, United Kingdom

Cairns Castle is a ruined keep, dating from the 15th century. The Crichtons inherited the castle through marriage of the heiress of the castle who was the granddaughter of William de Carnys the original owner.

The castle has an adjoining wing. It has a vaulted basement, a kitchen on the ground floor, and a hall above. All floors were reached by a turnpike stair in the corner between the main block and the wing. There were at least three storeys. The kitchen fireplace was converted into an entrance. The entrance tower to the east no longer exists.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

User Reviews

travel with gem (15 months ago)
Got some pictures of the scenery and cairns castle but its on private property so could not view the inside or stay long as the landowner didn't want me there. Overall was very disappointed.

Kevin Coyle (16 months ago)
Beautiful green space next to a lovely little loch. Small but interesting castle to see too. Little bird watching shed to view the amazing wildlife.

Ulric Schwela (16 months ago)
The tower remaining only merits two stars as there are few interesting details, but there's a bonus star for the lakeside setting and the beautiful flooded landscape around the nextdoor bridge.

Fiona McGowran (16 months ago)
A lovely peaceful place with great walks

Jenn McKillop (17 months ago)
Scenic. Quiet. Lots of snowdrops. And a friendly old dog came to see us.

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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