Historic Scotland

A border stronghold, an important royal castle in the Middle Ages, and later a mighty garrison fortress, Dumbarton Castle's history goes back 1,500 years. This spectacular historic site is being conserved for future generations by conservation experts. 🏰

Next week, the site will be closing its doors so that teams can undertake rock scaling work. This will include using rope access techniques to remove loose rock material and vegetation, and prevent risk of rockfall. These photos are from previous work at Dumbarton using rope access. (📷 Lee Howard)

After these works, which should last until Friday 12 June, the site will be open for you to enjoy. We look forward to welcoming you, especially for our Visiting Viking event happening in a couple of weeks!

In the early 1960s, while preparing a Dunfermline mill for demolition, surveyors uncovered something extraordinary: over 800 glass plate negatives dating from the late 1860s to 1919.

These images revealed a large variety of scenes ranging from Western Isles homes and Highland crofts near Ben Nevis to Argyll castles and busy Fife harbours.

The photographer, Erskine Beveridge, was a wealthy Dunfermline industrialist and an enthusiastic historian and archaeologist who would later become one of the finest amateur photographers of his generation.

Fascinated by landscapes, boats, buildings and archaeological monuments, Beveridge created beautifully composed images that show not just the places themselves, but what they meant to him.

'Wanderings with a Camera in Scotland', our book of the month, highlights one of the earliest and most remarkable photographic collections in the country. It makes the perfect gift for anyone who loves Scotland, photography or a little time‑travel through history.

📚 You can find it in our online shop: https://ow.ly/bvp050Z279E