Great Hall and kitchen
A 20-metre hall and a fireplace over five metres wide, among the best-preserved noble interiors of 15th-century Scotland.
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One castle, three screen careers: the knights' castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Winterfell in the unaired Game of Thrones pilot shot here in 2009 before the series moved Winterfell to Northern Ireland, and Castle Leoch in Outlander. That is what pulls most visitors to this compact stronghold on a wooded bend of the River Teith, about 8.5 miles north-west of Stirling. The less famous fact is the better reason to come: built around 1400 for Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the regent who ran Scotland for decades without ever wearing its crown, Doune has kept its walls and domestic rooms intact to a degree that is rare for a castle of that age. The layout is easy to read. A gatehouse tower rising almost 29 metres, a grassy courtyard, a vast kitchen with a fireplace more than five metres wide, and a 20-metre Great Hall where the Duke fed his guests. The first floor is 22 to 26 steps up from the courtyard, the second is reached by uneven spiral stairs. The audio guide is included in the ticket: take a handset at the desk or download it to your phone before you set off, since the signal at the castle is weak. Terry Jones of Monty Python narrates, with an Outlander track by Sam Heughan, and it is what turns bare rooms into scenes. Below the walls a free riverside walk leads to a handsome timber footbridge over the Ardoch Burn, one of the loveliest bits of the visit and no ticket needed. Getting there from Stirling is simple: bus 59 takes about 30 minutes to Doune village, then roughly a 10-minute walk from the Bank Street stop; by car it is about 20 minutes. The castle's own car park is tiny and runs on donations, so use one of the three free village car parks. The 275-metre path from the car park ends on a steep stretch of rough cobbles that turns slippery in rain, so pushchairs effectively stop at the courtyard. Tickets are £10 for an adult online or £11 at the door, £6 for a child aged 7 to 15 online (£6.50 at the door), concessions £8, with several family-ticket options. Advance booking is not compulsory but saves a pound and guarantees entry at busy times. Is it worth the trip? For Outlander or Game of Thrones fans, without hesitation, and you will be done in an hour to ninety minutes. If you have room for only one castle on your Stirling day, make it Stirling Castle and fit Doune into the day you head for Callander and the Trossachs, since it sits right on the way. From April to September it opens daily until 17:30; from October to March it shuts at 16:00 and the light goes earlier still, so in winter go in the morning.
A 20-metre hall and a fireplace over five metres wide, among the best-preserved noble interiors of 15th-century Scotland.
Terry Jones tells the Monty Python story and Sam Heughan walks you through Outlander, included in the ticket on a handset or your own phone.
A free path below the walls to a wooden footbridge over the Ardoch Burn, and the best outside view of the castle.
Castle Hill, Doune FK16 6EA
Stirling Castle, no contest: it is bigger, richer and fills half a day. Doune is a small castle you finish in an hour; its real value is for Outlander and Game of Thrones fans, or as a stop on the road to Callander and the Trossachs, not as a substitute for Stirling.
The courtyard and the riverside walk, yes; the interior, no. The path ends on a steep cobbled slope, then it is 22 to 26 steps to the first floor and spiral stairs to the second. Bring a carrier for little ones. There are toilets in an adapted cottage 25 metres from the car park, but no cafe beyond a self-service tea and coffee machine.