Scotland · Partial ruin
Red Castle, Angus
Red Castle (Red Castle of Lunan) is a medieval fortified house ruin on the coast of Angus, Scotland, overlooking Lunan Bay and the mouth of the Lunan Water. Surviving fabric includes part of a 15th-century rectangular tower (keep) and a thick east curtain wall that may date to the 13th century. The site is visible from the A92 road and the Edinburgh–Aberdeen railway and is protected as a scheduled monument.
Its prime
1500
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1500
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a grassy cliff above Lunan Bay, the castle is built of burnished red sandstone; a rectangular 15th‑century tower (keep) rises near the cliff edge and an east curtain wall of roughly 2‑metre thickness extends along the slope. At its prime the keep and curtain formed a compact rectangular enceinte set above the mouth of the Lunan Water, with the sea and beach below and hamlet of Lunan to the north.
Its story
The story of Red Castle, Angus.
Red Castle overlooks Lunan Bay on the North Sea coast of Angus, and William took up residence here on several occasions while on hunting expeditions. On his death the lands of Inverkeilor, with the castle, passed to Ingram de Balliol, who had married the heiress of Walter; he rebuilt the castle, and it stayed in that family for two generations until his grandson Ingram died childless around 1305, when the property went to Henry de Fishburn, son of Constance de Baliol.
The property was forfeited in the reallocation of lands under Robert the Bruce, who gave the castle to the Earl of Ross in 1328. In 1579 James, son of Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray, married Lady Elizabeth Beaton, who owned the castle — and fell in love with her daughter. A siege followed: a royal messenger sent from Stirling proclaimed at the mercat crosses of Dundee, Forfar, Montrose and Arbroath that all lieges between sixteen and sixty should relieve the 'hous of the Reidcastell', charging James Gray and John Ogilvie to leave the siege under pain of treason.
The castle then slipped into decline; though it remained partially roofed until 1770, it was never again a residence of nobility. What survives — part of the 15th-century rectangular tower and a two-metre-thick east curtain wall that may date from the 13th century — stands in precipitous condition above the bay, visible from the A92 and the Edinburgh–Aberdeen railway. An eroding midden below the castle has yielded artefacts now held in the Montrose Museum.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1500.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Red Castle, Angus — including 1 interior: interior of the 15th-century rectangular tower (keep). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Red Castle, Angus with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1500 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Red Castle, Angus.
The families that held Red Castle, Angus for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Balliol
Held by the de Balliols for two generations, from Ingram de Balliol's marriage to Walter's heiress until his grandson died childless c.1305.
Given to the Earl of Ross by Robert the Bruce in 1328.
