Blackness is a wonderful example of a military fort, a castle which was built purely for defence. It stands on the Forth and defended the waterways into the heart of Scotland. It is a Scottish Castle that has seen a lot of action and has also been used as a prison. The Castle is said to have been built by the Chrichtons, a very influencial family and close to the James II.
Blackness manager piping the Skye Boat song just after as he allowed one of our Outlander Tour guests to open the Blackness gate.
The view from Blackness Castle over the Firth of Forth with the Forth Rail Bridge in the background. The Forth Rail Bridge is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The view from the castle are spectacular.
The hall at Blackness castle. There are stones dated as old as 1400’s. From this hall there is a way out to the castle walls. The same walls Jamie and Claire ran on when escaping from Fort William in the Outlander Series.
Inside the castle walls. This is a bleak and ‘no frills’ castle obviously designed for defence and not comfort. It is also famous for not having a defined kitchen area as all other castles do. This indicates that royalty probably did not spend much time here.
The castle wall. Also where Jamie and Claire escaped from Fort William.
A window from the castle main hall. We can only assume this is one of the windows into which Jamie absailed into. The window looks into the ‘courtyard’ of the castle.
The pier at Blackness castle built in 1890 and served the castle from the water.
The area next to the prison tower at Blackness Castle where Jamie got his flogging. It also gives a good view of the shape of the castle walls which narrows to the front and makes it look like the bow of a ship. This is the reason it is referred to as the ‘ship that never sailed’.
