Castle · Dumbarton · West Dunbartonshire

Dumbarton Castle

Dumbarton Castle is part of what Dumbarton has to see. Around it, within 5 km, are 2 more places on our list. On the official register, it is a part of a Scheduled Monument.

Photo: Dumbarton Castle, Otter (CC BY 3.0)

Where

In Dumbarton

inside the locality

Run by

Historic Environment Scotland

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 2%

#107 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

Jun–Aug

highs of 18–19°C

In brief

Castle in Dumbarton

One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#107 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (26 Wikipedias). About ↓

Inside Dumbarton

Dumbarton Castle is inside Dumbarton’s locality, with 2 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by Historic Environment Scotland

One of the places Historic Environment Scotland looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Part of a Scheduled Monument

On the official list of protected heritage; Dumbarton has 49 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, NRS’s localities and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

Weather through the year

In Dumbarton the warm season is June to August, with highs of 18–19°C.

Jan7° / 2°162 mm

Feb7° / 2°126 mm

Mar9° / 3°101 mm

Apr12° / 4°68 mm

May15° / 7°72 mm

Jun18° / 10°77 mm

Jul19° / 11°80 mm

Aug19° / 11°99 mm

Sep16° / 10°100 mm

Oct13° / 7°143 mm

Nov9° / 4°133 mm

Dec7° / 2°144 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Dumbarton, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Dumbarton. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Dumbarton’s full climate →

About

Dumbarton Castle

It is conserved by Historic Environment Scotland. 26 Wikipedia editions have an article on it. Further out, Newark Castle is 7.1 km away.

Dumbarton’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Castle
Run by: Historic Environment Scotland
Listed: Part of a Scheduled Monument
Wikipedias: Covered in 26 languages
Town: in Dumbarton
Official site: historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/dumbarton-castle

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Dumbarton Castle and what surrounds it

Spot Dumbarton Castle in orange, then follow the numbers to the places below.

Towns near it

Towns near Dumbarton Castle

By population, Dumbarton leads the 8 with 21,027. These are the towns that list it, beginning with its own.

1 · It’s in town

Dumbarton

21,027 people · 8 places to visit

2 · 2.9 km north of it

Bonhill

8,608 people · 10 places to visit

3 · 3.9 km southeast of it

Bishopton

10,048 people · 4 places to visit

4 · 4 km east of it

Bowling and Old Kilpatrick

4,761 people · 6 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Dumbarton Castle is	People	Places to visit
Dumbarton	It’s in town	21,027	8
Bonhill	2.9 km north of it	8,608	10
Bishopton	3.9 km southeast of it	10,048	4
Bowling and Old Kilpatrick	4 km east of it	4,761	6
Port Glasgow	4.4 km west of it	14,260	9
Alexandria	4.7 km north of it	6,260	11
Erskine	5 km southeast of it	14,857	8
Kilmacolm	6.4 km southwest of it	3,876	1

Make a day of it

After Dumbarton Castle

Our list has 28 more within 15 km, among them 4 castles, 2 museums and a cathedral.

Castle · Historic Environment ScotlandNewark Castle7.1 km away 2

CathedralSt Mirin's Cathedral14 km away 3CastleCastleBalloch Castle8.6 km away 4GardenGarden · National Trust for ScotlandHill House14 km away 5

Museum · National Trust for ScotlandGeilston Garden7.2 km away 6CastleCastleKilmahew Castle6.3 km away 7

CastleArdencaple Castle14 km away 8

MuseumMcLean Museum and Art Gallery13 km away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Know before you visit Dumbarton Castle

Where is Dumbarton Castle?

Dumbarton Castle is in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, inside the town’s locality.

What is Dumbarton Castle?

Castle in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK.

Who runs Dumbarton Castle?

Historic Environment Scotland, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Dumbarton Castle?

June to August are the warmest months in Dumbarton, with afternoon highs of 18–19°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Dumbarton Castle a listed building?

Yes: part of a Scheduled Monument.

What else is there to see near Dumbarton Castle?

Within 15 km: Newark Castle (7.1 km), St Mirin's Cathedral (14 km), Balloch Castle (8.6 km) and Hill House (14 km).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the NRS 2022 locality (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (6)

Dumbarton Castle: Otter, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Newark Castle: Dave souza, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
St Mirin's Cathedral: JohnArmagh, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Geilston Garden: Eddie Mackinnon, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ardencaple Castle: Cmacauley, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
McLean Museum and Art Gallery: Hajotthu, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.