History
A partially-restored L-plan tower-house in the North of Falkirk Council Area, the A-listed Torwood Castle (once also known as Torwoodhead Castle) is located a half-mile (0.8 km) South-west of the village of Torwood and 2 miles (3 km) North-west of Larbert. Built around 1566 for Sir Alexander Forrester of Garden, whose family had been created the hereditary keepers of the nearby Royal Forest of Torwood by King James III, the property passed to the Baillies in the early 17th Century and then the Forresters of Corstorphine in 1653.
The castle comprises a three-storey main block with a five-storey wing projecting northwards from its Western end and a square stair-tower in the angle between the two. The main block includes a basement, with a wine cellar and kitchen. Above is the main hall, which features a fine fireplace. The North wing includes the entrance, guard-room and main staircase. The subsidiary buildings around the courtyard, which were added in the 17th century, have now largely gone. The possibility of a 17th-century garden has been suggested.
In 1957 the ruin was acquired by Gordon Millar, a Glaswegian accountant, who single-handedly set about restoring the castle over the next forty years. The restoration was slow and it remains far from finished although his work has ensured the stonework has been stabilised. Following his death in 1998, the property was given over to the Torwood Castle Trust, a charity intended to continue his work.
An old Roman road passes the castle immediately to the North and, a half-mile (0.8 km) to the North North-west, is Tappoch (or Torwood) Broch.
Description
The roofless castle is three storeys tall and comprises a vaulted ground floor, a first floor and an attic. The short wing housed the staircase and has gables at its North and South ends. It had a cobbled courtyard enclosed by three ranges of buildings, although little remains of them. Two rooms of the North range were excavated in 1999, revealing a kitchen and a well room.
Not only can the ruins of the 16th century castle be explored, but the area also has the remains of a 2,500 year old Iron Age Pictish broch (a circular, drystone wall dwelling found almost exclusively in the North and West of Scotland) and parts of a Roman road which connected Falkirk and Stirling.
In order to Log this Virtual Cache
Find the entrance, look at the Plaque above the door, and send me what is written on the top line (5 words)
If you wish to add a image of your visit to Torwood Castle, please feel free to do so.
A thank you
I would like to thank Gary Grant for allowing the placement of this Virtual Cache. He moved into the Castle to prevent further vandalism back in 2018. He works for the Torwood Charitable Trust, and is pain stakingly restoring the Castle and Iron Age Pictish broch, with the aid of volunteers.
Gary is really helpful, if you wish to find out more of the History of the surrounding area, please ask him, he is always pottering around.
Gary is also hoping to have the Castle, deemed safe to allow visitors to enter the Castle (In the not so distant future).
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.