📌 Menstrie, Clackmannanshire
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Menstrie Castle was built by the Alexander family in the mid 16th century, and now forms a unique centrepiece for a housing estate in the middle of Menstrie village. The building was nearly consigned to the scrapheap of Scottish castles bulldozed to make way for urban development in the 1950s, but campaigning led to flats being built around the castle rather than over it. The castle itself was restored, which involved conversion of some of the building’s interior into flats too. A small ground-floor portion opened to the public as a National Trust for Scotland property in recent years, mostly consisting of an exhibition about Sir William Alexander (born here in 1577) and his links with the colonisation of Nova Scotia – but it apparently closed in 2017. Perhaps it’ll reopen, but in the meantime, the exterior is still worth checking out if you’re passing through Menstrie.
🌍 Location
📌 Castle Road, Menstrie village centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 849969
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.150519,-3.853691
🚌 Bus to Menstrie
🚗 Street parking
📝 Key info
⌚ Exterior always viewable
🎫 Free
