A tall Campbell tower house in the Ochil Hills above Dollar, wedged between two burns with the wonderful old name Castle Gloom
Open to visitorsa Historic Environment Scotland site — many are free to wander; staffed ones charge and keep set hours
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
The setting does a lot of the work: Castle Campbell stands on a green spur high above Dollar, boxed in on two sides by deep wooded ravines where the Burn of Care and the Burn of Sorrow run down. It became in the 15th century the stronghold of the Campbells, earls of Argyll, and its older name — Castle Gloom — suits the brooding position better than the family one. The oldest part is the tower house (a tall fortified house built upward rather than out), which still stands to its full height, with ranges and a courtyard added later. John Knox is said to have preached here during the Reformation. Government troops and the campaigns of the 1650s left it damaged, and it was never fully lived in again. Historic Environment Scotland cares for it now. Most people walk up through the mossy ravine of Dollar Glen to reach it, a short but steep and often slippery path, so mind your footing after rain.
