Huntingtower Castle

Elegant Perthshire castle awash with history. Huntingtower Castle served as a noble residence for 300 years from the 15th to the 18th century. It is most associated with the Ruthvens (later earls of Gowrie) who lived in the 'House of Ruthven' and became notorious for their battles with the ruling Stuart dynasty. Mary Queen of Scots famously stayed here during her honeymoon with Lord Darnley, but it was another royal visitor who caused the biggest stir. Mary's son James was imprisoned here for months during the 'Ruthven Raid' in 1582. The Ruthvens paid for their opposition to the Stuarts when they were stripped of the castle and their lands in 1600, the Murrays (earls of Tullibardine and later dukes of Atholl), replacing them. It is the Murrays who gave the castle its current appearance, merging together the once separate towers into today's eye catching whole. This grand ruin is Spartan inside, but is awash with history, which is explianed through the information boards that grace its rooms. The views from the ramparts out across Perthshire are an attraction in themselves.