Noltland Castle

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

Historic Scotland names no parking. Reviewers describe an easily reached car park with plenty of space beside the castle; no official charge or free statement exists, so the status is recorded as unknown.

Westray is reached by Orkney Ferries' car ferry from Kirkwall to Rapness at the south end of the island, with the castle near the north end a mile west of Pierowall; North Isles fares from 1 April 2026 are £6.75 single for an adult and £16.00 single for a car up to 5.5 m, and booking a car is recommended (Orkney Ferries 01856 872044). Driving pin: the parking area beside the castle, 42 m from Historic Scotland's own pin.

About

Noltland Castle stands a mile west of Pierowall on Westray, built between 1560 and 1574 for Gilbert Balfour, master of the household to Mary, Queen of Scots, a man implicated in the murders of Cardinal Beaton and Lord Darnley. After Mary's arrest he retired here, fled abroad in 1572 and died in Sweden four years later fighting for King Johan III. From a distance it looks like any tower house of its time, but it is part nobleman's home and part artillery fortress, its walls pierced by 71 gunholes: a Z-plan block with two diagonally opposite towers north of a walled courtyard, never finished. The lower floors were lit only through the gunholes. The great spiral stair ends in a carved round capital, and over the outer entrance is a line from Exodus: when I see the blood I will pass over you in the night. Reviewers climb the stair to the top, which is lit automatically but slippery when wet.

ClosedPick a day for times and prices

Until 24 Dec: Daily 10:00–16:00
25 Dec–7 Jan: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun 10:00–16:00
8 Jan–31 Mar: Daily 10:00–16:00

Later dates are in the calendar.

Today, Saturday 24 October

Noltland Castle10:00 – 16:00

Free entry

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland's opening times: 1 April to 30 September daily 9.30am to 5.30pm; 1 October to 31 March daily 10am to 4pm. Closed 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January. No last entry time or notices published on 20 October 2026.

The castle is unstaffed with little information on site; inside, the lower floors are lit only through the gunholes and by automatic lights, and a great spiral stair climbs to the top, its steps slippery when wet. Strong footwear is recommended. No toilets or other facilities; Pierowall village is a mile east.

Photo: The roofless Z-plan tower of Noltland Castle, its walls pierced by gunholes, behind a drystone wall and gate on Westray. Michael Earnshaw, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Noltland_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7266374.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.