Abington Motte

Abington Motte can be seen from the service station at junction 13 of the M74, which it lies almost opposite. It is one of the few true motte-and-bailey castles in Scotland, and certainly one of the best preserved. Its history is a matter of supposition, but one can assume that it was founded to guard a commonly used invasion route into Scotland in the 12th century by a settler granted lands by King David I, Malcolm IV or even William.

It almost certainly fell out of use during the Wars of Independence, possibly as the result of deliberate destruction by the Scots, and may have been replaced by a small stone castle at Crawfordjohn, itself replaced by the impressive stone castle of Boghall. Today the castle is in a field used for sheep grazing.

HES Canmore database entry