Castle of Old Wick
Castle of Old Wick Details
Castle of Old Wick, a ruined C12 tower and ditch are the surviving parts of a peninsular fortified by the Norse Earls of Orkney.
- Closest To: Wick
- Access: Free Public Access
- Grid Reference: ND369488
The Castle of Old Wick is a ruined square tower on a cliff-top promontory jutting out into the North Sea just south of Wick. The tower was accompanied by a narrow courtyard of buildings extending out onto the promontory, and was defended by an external ditch crossed by a causeway, and a small outer enclosure also defended by an external ditch.
The castle is commonly said to be 12th century, but this date probably refers to an older phase of occupation, with the stone tower dating to the 14th or even 15th century like other castles of its type, like Forse, Buchollie, Brough, or Berriedale. The castle exchanged hands many times and at times was held by Cheynes, Sutherlands, Oliphants, Sinclairs, Campbells and Dunbars, but other than this little is known of it other than a 1569 siege carried out at the hands of the Sinclairs. It is open to the public, but with sheer cliffs and an exposed site, extreme caution should be taken when visiting.
Official Historic Scotland page
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