7 of Scotland's oddest castles

Corgarff dominates a large sweep of land in the foot of the Cairngorms and has a distinctive star-shaped perimeter wall.
It has a rich and bloody history with Corgarff twice burned to the ground. The first blaze was lit in the 1570s due to inter-clan warring - the second in 1689 in opposition to the castle being used by supporters of William of Orange.
Jacobite troops were stationed here during the '15 and '45 uprisings but Corgarff was later taken into government hands, forming part of the route to the new Fort George.
Latterly, the government used it to spy on whisky smugglers who would run liquor distilled in local homes. .

This 15th Century castle has been described as a "ship that never sailed" given its appearance of a mighty stone sea vessel. The central tower is often referred to as the 'main mast'
Blackness - which enjoys stunning views of the Firth of Forth - was built by the hugely influential Crichton family and has served as a royal residence during the reign James II.
In 1537, the castle was converted into a state prison - Cardinal Beaton was among those kept in its cells - and an artillery fortification.
Blackness been used as a film location for Hamlet, Ivanhoe and more recently for Outlander when it was used to replicate Fort William.

Kinnaird Head Castle near Fraserburgh is a truly unique Scottish Castle.
It was sold by the Frasers of Philorth to the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1787 as it fell out of fashion - then converted into Scotland’s first mainland lighthouse.
As well as the original castle tower itself, the old kitchens and parts of the grand hall can be seen by visitors.
In with the lot came the Wine Tower - a fantastic insight to life of one of the most powerful North East families of the day.
With the Wine Tower comes much curiosity. Its upper vaulted chamber contains seven preserved roof pendants, carved in stone.

Cubbie's Roo is the oldest medieval castle known to exist in Scotland and dates from Norse occupation. According to the The Orkneyinga Saga, Kolbein Hruga (Cubbie Roo) built a fine stone castle on the island of Wyre around 1145. It is a small rectangular tower enclosed by a circular ditch. The nearby ruined chapel is of late 12th century date. Fragments of chainmail have been found on the site.
Cubbie Roo is also the name of a bridge-building giant in Orkney folklore.

Caerlaverock Castle is the only castle in Britain to be built with it defensive walls in a triangular shape - an no one really knows why this was the fortification of choice.
It was built, however, with a very definite purpose. For 400 years it stood at the edge of the Solway Firth, on the southernmost edge of its Scottish kingdom.
It was besieged during the Wars of Independence and later demolished and rebuilt, although its 13th century triangular design has always endured.

Orchardton Tower is Scotland's only freestanding round tower and was built by nobleman John Cairns sometime after 1455 - around 200 years after the towers went out of fashion.
It stands 9metres tall with walls around 2.5metres thick at their widest point. The tower tapers as it reaches its peak with a tightly wound staircase leading to the top.
The tower ended up in the Maxwell family in the 1600s.
Sir Robert Maxwell, who held the Baronetcy in 1745, was sent for execution following Culloden but ended up a prisoner of war in France. He eventually returned to Orchardton Tower and inspired Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering, or The Astrologer.

Duffus was judged to be one of the strongest castles in Scotland - and is an unusually intact example of a motte-and- bailey.
It was a fortress–residence for more than 500 years and first build by Hugh de Freskyn (or Freskin), a Flemish immigrant who had been granted lands by David I.
He built his timber castle on the Laich of Moray around 1150 with the structure later replaced by a stone version in the 1300s.
It was abandoned in the early 1700s and has slowly crumbled ever since.