Castle · Rothesay · Argyll and Bute

Rothesay Castle

Rothesay Castle is a castle in Argyll and Bute. Look for it within Rothesay’s locality. It is a scheduled monument.

Photo: Rothesay Castle, Otter (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Where

In Rothesay

inside the locality

How well known

Top 7%

#525 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

Jun–Aug

highs of 17–18°C

In brief

Castle in Rothesay

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

#525 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (12 Wikipedias). About ↓

Inside Rothesay

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

Scheduled monument

On the official list of protected heritage; Rothesay has 151 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

The climate through the year

Warm weather in Rothesay runs June to August, with highs of 17–18°C.

Jan7° / 3°163 mm

Feb7° / 3°122 mm

Mar9° / 4°111 mm

Apr12° / 5°83 mm

May15° / 7°81 mm

Jun17° / 10°90 mm

Jul18° / 12°107 mm

Aug18° / 12°121 mm

Sep16° / 10°112 mm

Oct13° / 8°158 mm

Nov10° / 5°150 mm

Dec8° / 3°153 mm

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

About

Rothesay Castle

12 Wikipedia editions have an article on it. Our list has 17 more places within 15 km; first among them is Mount Stuart House, at 5.5 km.

Rothesay’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Castle
Listed: Scheduled monument
Wikipedias: Covered in 12 languages
Town: in Rothesay
Official site: historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/rothesay-castle

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

The map

Where it sits

On this map, Rothesay Castle is orange and its neighbours are numbered.

Towns near it

Towns a short way from Rothesay Castle

With 42,870 people, Greenock is the largest of the 8. The towns are in order of distance, its own town first.

1 · It’s in town

Rothesay

4,206 people · 7 places to visit

2 · 13 km east of it

Largs

10,916 people · 10 places to visit

3 · 14 km northeast of it

Inverkip

3,542 people · 4 places to visit

4 · 16 km northeast of it

Dunoon

7,982 people · 8 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Rothesay Castle is	People	Places to visit
Rothesay	It’s in town	4,206	7
Largs	13 km east of it	10,916	10
Inverkip	14 km northeast of it	3,542	4
Dunoon	16 km northeast of it	7,982	8
Gourock	19 km northeast of it	10,072	11
West Kilbride	20 km southeast of it	4,876	8
Greenock	21 km northeast of it	42,870	9
Ardrossan	26 km southeast of it	10,338	6

Make a day of it

More near Rothesay Castle

Our list has 17 more within 15 km, among them 5 castles, a historic house and a cathedral.

Historic houseMount Stuart House5.5 km away 2

CathedralCathedral of The Isles12 km away 3

CastleKames Castle3.8 km away 4

CastleWester Kames Castle4.3 km away 5

CastleArdgowan Castle14 km away 6

CastleSkelmorlie Castle11 km away 7

MuseumBute Museum100 m away 8CastleCastleWee Cumbrae Castle15 km away

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

Rothesay Castle: common questions

Where is Rothesay Castle?

Rothesay Castle is in Rothesay, Argyll and Bute, inside the town’s locality.

What is Rothesay Castle?

Castle in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK.

When is the best time to visit Rothesay Castle?

June to August are the warmest months in Rothesay, with afternoon highs of 17–18°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Rothesay Castle a listed building?

Yes: scheduled monument.

What else is there to see near Rothesay Castle?

Within 15 km: Mount Stuart House (5.5 km), Cathedral of The Isles (12 km), Kames Castle (3.8 km) and Wester Kames Castle (4.3 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 (8)

Rothesay Castle: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mount Stuart House: Colin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Cathedral of The Isles: John McLeish, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kames Castle: Richard Dear, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Wester Kames Castle: Reading Tom from Reading, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ardgowan Castle: Thomas Nugent, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Skelmorlie Castle: McGibbon & Ross, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Bute Museum: DougRM, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.