Castle of St. John — Attraction in Scotland

The Castle of St John dates back to the 16th century when it was built as a home for a powerful local family, the Adairs of Kilhilt. However, in the 1800s it became a prison. The pitched roof was removed and a flat roof was built on which the prisoners were allowed to exercise. It is now a visitor centre with free admission. The displays are excellent and there's something of interest for the whole family from little ones to Nana and Grampa! However, there are about 100 steps to go up the tower and they are very worn in places and steep all the way. You can go up onto the roof where the views are simply amazing. You can see all round the town, the local countryside and out over Loch Ryan - all the way to Ailsa Craig on a clear day. According to the leaflet, it is open to the pulic June to September Tuesday...

Fantastic! Great if you like museums. Paid a visit with my little boy who is 10. Stairs are steep near the top they get narrower, so not sure about younger kids, but well worth a visit to see how the castle was used throughout previous centuries, great to see they have re-opened this and kept it as it was, all those years ago.

Sorry to have missed the event last weekend where they were displaying foods that they used to eat in the castle, think that would have been very interesting, but as not from the area any longer we were only down visiting relatives...

Unfortunately the castle was not open when we visited, so we could not see inside. However we enjoyed viewing it from outside, especially the very impressive poppy art installation for the forthcoming Remembrance Sunday. The castle overlooks a town square with lots of seats, along with a couple of information panels about Stranraer. There is also a small plaque on the castle that provides more information about...