Nearest public transport hub: Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Getting to the castle: 15-min walk from Waverley station. Lothian buses also take you to other Edinburgh castles (such as Lauriston & Dalhousie)
Nearest public transport hub: Linlithgow railway station (frequent trains from Edinburgh & Glasgow)
Getting to the castle: 5-min walk from Linlithgow station.
Nearest public transport hub: Stirling station (frequent trains from Edinburgh & Glasgow)
Getting to the castle: 5-min walk from Stirling station.
Nearest public transport hub: Stonehaven railway station (a few Aberdeen-bound trains a day from Edinburgh & Glasgow)
Getting to the castle: An hour long walk from Stonehaven railway station via the town and the beautiful coastal route. Consider booking a taxi if short on time.
Bus connections: X7, 7 & 107 take you from town close to the castle
Nearest public transport hub: Loch Awe railway station (a few Oban-bound trains & buses a day from Glasgow).
Getting to the castle: A 40-min long walk from the Loch Awe railway station, take care of traffic while doing the walk. Stunning castle & loch views and tea room close to the station itself.
Nearest public transport hub: Craignure ferry terminal (hourly ferries from Oban which in turn gets a few trains & buses a day from Glasgow)
Getting to the castle: The castle runs a coach service from the ferry terminal to the castle for a nominal fee (details here, check with the castle, if needed)
Nearest public transport hub: Inverness railway station (train and bus connections from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh & even London)
Bus connections (for Urquhart castle): Bus 19/119 on a weekday, Citylink buses to Fort William / Portree on all days from Inverness bus station.
Getting to the Inverness Castle: A 5-minute walk from the station.
Nearest public transport hub: Kyle of Lochalsh railway station (one end of the Inverness – Kyle line)
Bus connections: Bus 915 / 916 / 917 run by Scottish Cityline on the Glasgow – Fort William – Skye and Inverness – Skye routes.
Nearest public transport hub: Blair Atholl station (Inverness-bound trains from Edinburgh & Glasgow, local bus 83 from Pitlochry)
Getting to the castle: A 10-min walk from the train station
Nearest public transport hub: Brodick, Isle of Arran (reached by taking a train to Ardrossan Harbour and a ferry to Brodick). This is the hardest castle to get to from the main cities!
Getting to the castle: A 40-minutes bus ride on the 324 towards Blackwaterfoot.
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Full blogpost over on my blog Beyond our Horizons. It contains a couple more pictures and my favourite reasons for visiting the listed castles. Feel free to pose any questions about Scotland public transport travel below and I'll be happy to answer it.Have you been to any other Scottish castles outside of this list? Would love to hear your experience and any logistical details. There are a few more examples in this other thread.
Comments
The Edinburgh castles have had their tickets sold out but there are gems like Urquhart castle (on the list above), St. Andrews Cathedral and Huntly castle among others with tickets left.
The giveaway closes 5 PM on Friday 24th Nov. This is one of my favourite times of the year simple because I use the giveaway to see a new Historic Scotland property for free.
Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Dunoon, Speyside)
Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Dunoon, Speyside)
Inveraray (Argyll), Brodick (Arran), St. Andrews, Torosay (Mull), Mey, Dunrobin (both NC500), Balmoral, Braemar (both Aberdeenshire), Glamis, Scone (both Perth), Dudhope, Mains, Powrie, Broughty Ferry, Claypotts (all 5 Dundee)
Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Dunoon, Speyside)
Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Dunoon, Speyside)
Dirleton Castle is also reachable using the bus that runs between Edinburgh and North Berwick (Church Road) - 124/X24 First Bus. Get off at Dirleton Castle bus stop.
To get to North Berwick from Edinburgh, you can go by train from Waverley Station or bus 124/X24 First Bus from the city centre. It is possible to visit both in one day as a day trip from Edinburgh.
The walk is lovely but it's over 3 miles. The bus takes about half an hour.
It's a lovely castle and in a lovely and scenic area.
Another stunning castle is Dunrobin. It's a mile and a half from Golspie which can be reached by train. I was there and it's a stunning castle. They also have some great falconry displays. However, I think it's a seasonal castle.
Again, if you are in Oban there's Kilchrun castle. If you get the Oban to Glasgow train and get off in Loch Awe and then you have a 30 mins walk to the castle. It's located in an amazing location.
Lochleven castle is in Kinross. Megabus usually stops in Kinross. From there you can walk to the pier where you can get the wee ferry to the island where Loch Leven is. Lovely place.
If you end up visiting Shetland you can pop in Scalloway castle. Right in the centre of the village.