Cadzow Castle

Cadzow Castle - Historic Scotland Castle in South Lanarkshire | Trust Quest

About

Cadzow Castle stands hidden among ancient trees high above the gorge of the River Avon in Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton, a late medieval stronghold of the Hamiltons. Its dumb-bell and wide-mouthed gun loops suggest a date between 1475 and 1550, and it may have been begun by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart in 1529 and completed by the Earl of Arran in the 1540s and 1550s. It was a rare hidden castle, a place of last resort, while the family's main seat stood in the valley below. The Hamiltons backed Mary, Queen of Scots, and after their defeat Hamilton Castle was destroyed with cannon from Edinburgh Castle in 1579; Cadzow probably met a similar fate. In the 1730s the Duke of Hamilton built the Chatelherault hunting lodge across the river, and the ruin became a picturesque feature. The nearby Cadzow oaks date from the 1400s. The castle is fenced and seen from outside only. Park at the Chatelherault visitor centre, cross the Duke's Bridge and enjoy the woodland trails.

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Cadzow CastleExterior only: the fenced ruin is seen from the country park's paths, no hours published

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland: 'The castle is in the grounds of Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton. Only its exterior can be viewed.' No hours or opening dates on 20 October 2026. Reviewers from 2019 to 2025 found the ruin behind a high metal fence with supports and scaffolding.

Chatelherault Country Park, run by South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, has over ten miles of woodland trails linking the castle with the Duke's Bridge and the 1730s hunting lodge; the visitor centre, Oaks Cafe and gift shop open daily.

Photo: The red sandstone walls of Cadzow Castle on a grassy platform behind a perimeter fence, with conifer woods beyond. M J Richardson, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cadzow_Castle_remains_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3040247.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.