Clan Rising
Kilmartin Castle today

Scotland · Restored

Kilmartin Castle

Kilmartin Castle is a 16th-century Z-plan tower house at Kilmartin in Argyll, Scotland, built in 1550 for the Rector John Carswell and later owned by Clan Campbell. The castle fell into ruin for about two centuries before being restored in the late 20th century and is now used as private accommodation and for small events.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1550

Today

Restored

As it stood in 1550

The shape it held in its prime.

A compact three-storey Z-plan tower house of grey rubble masonry set low in a grassy glen. The main rectangular block is flanked by at least two corner towers, one clearly cylindrical with a conical slate roof; steep slate roofs and a prominent gabled end rise above small rectangular and slit windows. Thick stone walls, visible mortar joints and a large stone chimney punctuate the roofline. The castle sits beside a small outbuilding and fenced garden with rolling hills behind.

Its story

The story of Kilmartin Castle.

Kilmartin Castle was built in 1550 for John Carswell, Rector of Kilmartin, and later came into the ownership of Clan Campbell. It is a Z-plan tower house standing in Kilmartin Glen in Argyll — a historically significant landscape that is also home to Kilmartin Museum.

The castle fell into ruin for about two centuries before restoration in the late 20th century. Today the 16th-century tower serves as luxury self-catering accommodation, sleeping ten, and hosts a handful of small weddings each year.

Step inside

5 places to explore in 1550.

The record describes 5 distinct spots at Kilmartin Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.

Approach from the fieldRound corner tower — exterior close-upGabled end and rooflineAdjacent outbuilding and gardenView with hillside backdrop

Create History

Recreate Kilmartin Castle with AI to explore it.

The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1550 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.

Recreate Castle to Explore →

Whose castle

Clans who held Kilmartin Castle.

The families that held Kilmartin Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.

  • Campbell

    Owned by Clan Campbell after its first owner, Rector John Carswell of Kilmartin.

All castles of Scotland · Castles of Europe · walk the finished reconstructions.