A ruined Lindsay tower house in Angus, famous above all for the carved Renaissance garden walls beside it
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
Most people come to Edzell for the garden rather than the castle. The ruin itself is a red-sandstone tower house — a tall fortified home — with a courtyard mansion added alongside, built by the Lindsays, the family who were lords here for generations. What sets Edzell apart is the walled garden, the Pleasance, laid out in 1604 by Sir David Lindsay. Its walls are lined with carved stone panels showing the planetary gods, the cardinal virtues and the liberal arts, along with recesses cut for flowers and for nesting birds, an unusually elaborate piece of Renaissance design to find in the Angus countryside. The castle fell out of use and into ruin after the Lindsays lost their fortunes, and Cromwell’s troops were garrisoned here during the wars of the 1650s. Historic Environment Scotland now looks after both castle and garden. The village of Edzell is a mile or so east, near the mouth of Glen Esk where it opens out from the hills.
