Dumbarton Castle

It’s always such a joy to come back to dumbarton & taking a trip up to the castle is always a highlight. My family emigrated to Brooklyn NY from from dumbarton when my grandmother was a child in the 50’s. She never forgot where she was from and took us back to visit many many times when I was growing up.
The castle is the dominating feature of the town, as most Scottish castles are. Sitting between two mounds on the river Clyde the the structure looks as old as the hills themselves. Walking to the top of the mount is not for those who don’t like heights as the walkway is nothing more than a staircase over a valley at points. The view from the top is nothing short of breathtaking, and makes me proud every time of my Scottish roots.
If you happen to find yourself in Glasgow and have some free time, do yourself a favor and take the 20£ cab ride into dumbarton (trains even cheaper). Make your way to the castle and enjoy one of the great treasures of Scotland.

If you’re a tourist with plans to visit our Bonnie Scotland and you intend to immerse yourself in our rich history by visiting one of our many castles, then don’t pick this one. If however, you’re a local and you’ve been to all the big guns e.g. Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle etc. then it’s maybe worth a visit.
Dumbarton Castle is ideal to pop into if you’re on your way towards the Loch Lomond area but it’s not a landmark you would go out of your way to visit. Not a lot of the castle is still intact so don’t expect to see much in terms of internal displays with lots of interesting things to read about. This is more of a ruin for you to stroll around and take in the stunning views, including the peak of Ben Lomond, but with more than 500 steps to climb it’s not for the faint hearted! Also, if you’ve missed out on tickets to a football match being played at the neighbouring Dumbarton FC stadium then you can get a great view of the game from the artillery fortifications!
It costs £4.50 for an adult, £2.70 for a child and £3.60 for a concession and there’s a decent little gift shop with the usual Scottish tat in it!