Castle Campbell....

... sits at the entrance to Dollar Glen on a narrow ridge above the Burn of Care and the Burn of Sorrow.

Originally called Castle Gloom it became the stronghold of the Campbells in 1460 and remained their residence until 1654. In 1488 the Earl, Colin Campbell, petitioned King James IV to have the name of the castle changed and Castle Campbell was born.

The tower house and original living quarters is characteristically 15c. The range along the south side of the courtyard incorporating state apartments with a great hall, family living quarters, and a kitchen were added around 1500.

In 1641 the 8th Earl was granted the title of Marquise of Argyll by Charles 1 but in 1650 after Cromwell's army defeated the Scots at Dunbar, the Marquis promptly switched his allegiance and Castle Campbell, caught up in the politics of the day, was garrisoned by English soldiers.

The end came in 1654 when the Castle was set alight by the royalists angered by Argyll's committment to the Cromwellian army.

In 1661 Argyll was executed for treason and his son, the 9th Earl, turned his back on Castle Campbell preferring the luxury of a town house next to Stirling Castle now known as Argyll's Lodging.

Castle Campbell fell into ruin and although briefly used as a garrison by the Duke of Argyll during the Jacobite uprising, the family connection with the castle ended in 1805.

The castle ruins remained in private ownership until 1948 when they came into the care of the National Trust for Scotland then Historic Scotland.