Fodor's Expert Review Threave Castle

Once home to the Black Douglases, earls of Nithsdale and lords of Galloway, Threave's imposing towers reflect well the Lord of Galloway who built it in the 14th century, Archibald the Grim. Not to be confused with the mansion in Threave Gardens, the castle was dismantled in the religious wars of the mid-17th century, though enough of it remained to have housed prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars two centuries later. It's a few minutes from Castle Douglas by car and is signposted from the main road. To get here, leave your car in a farmyard and make your way down to the edge of the river. Ring the bell (loudly) and, rather romantically, a boatman will come to ferry you across to the great stone tower looming from a marshy island in the river.