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Dumbarton CastleDumbarton Castle sits on top of a 73m/240 ft high volcanic outcrop where the River Leven, which flows from Loch Lomond, joins the River Clyde, to the south of Dumbarton itself. The castle takes its name from Dùn Breatainn, the fort of the Britons, and was the capital of the kingdom of Strathclyde. In 1018, following the Battle of Carham, Strathclyde became part of the Scottish kingdom. The rock, which was known as Alcluith, the rock on the Clyde, was said to have been created by St. Patrick when he threw it at three pagan witches. According to another legend, Merlin supposedly stayed here in 576 and during the Middle Ages it was known as castrum arturi, Camelot of Arthur. In 870 there was a 15 week siege by Olaf the White, which ended when the well on the rock dried up. In 1489 it was the turn of James IV to siege the castle – twice. In 1571 Thomas Crawford led his men up the northern side of the rock to capture the castle. William Wallace was held at the castle in 1305 before being taken to London and Mary, Queen of Scots, was on her way to the castle prior to the Battle of Langside in 1568. It also later served as a prison for Jacobites. In 1735 the castle was rebuilt as one of the government's strongholds along the edge of the Highlands - most of the surviving buildings date from that time. |
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