Castle On An Island Loch Leven Kinross Perthshire Scotland
Tour Scotland Spring travel video of Loch Leven Castle on an island in Loch Leven on ancestry visit to Kinross, Perthshire. This is one of the best examples of a fourteenth century keep remaining in Scotland. It stands on an island in Lochleven, and its most famous resident was is undoubtedly the imprisoned of Mary Queen of Scots. The castle was the location of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence, 1296to 1357. In the latter part of the 14th century, the castle was granted by his uncle to William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, and remained in Douglases' hands for the next 300 years. Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned here in 1567 and 1568, and forced to abdicate as queen, before escaping with the help of her gaoler's family. In 1588, the Queen's gaoler inherited the title Earl of Morton, and moved away from the castle. It was bought, in 1675, by Sir William Bruce, who used the castle as a focal point in his garden; it was never again used as a residence. It was from here that Mary Queen of Scots escaped to England to eventually be beheaded by her cousin Elizabeth, Queen of England.