Broughty Castle at dawn, seen across the water from the harbour pier

Broughty Castle · Dundee · On the Tay

530 years standing. Help keep it standing for generations more.

Visit the Castle Support your Castle

Friends of Broughty Castle · Scottish Charity SC054928

Our story

The Castle is still here
because people cared.

Painting of Broughty Castle as a roofless ruin, waves breaking on the rocks below
Then. A ruin in a storm, painted by Alexander Nasmyth.
Broughty Castle today: the restored tower and its curtain walls on a sunny day
Now. Restored, open, and still watching the Tay.

Built around 1496 by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray, Broughty Castle guarded Dundee through Scotland's wars with England in the 16th and 17th centuries. It fell to ruin, was rebuilt to defend the river, and since 1969 has been a museum of local history and wildlife.

In 2025 it faced closure. Local people didn't accept that. The Broughty Ferry Traders Association founded the Friends of Broughty Castle, with the support of Broughty Ferry Rotary and Broughty Ferry Community Council. In its first year the group lobbied the council, stopped the closure, and secured three years of guaranteed funding.

Supporting the Castle isn't theoretical.
It has already made a difference.

  1. 1496Built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray
  2. 1500sA fortress in the wars with England
  3. 1860sRebuilt as a battery to guard the Tay
  4. 1969Opens as a museum
  5. 2025Threatened with closure. The community fights back.
  6. TodayOpen, funded, and a registered charity behind it
  7. ?What happens next is up to all of us.

What's on at the Castle

Somewhere to come back to.

Markets, performances, exhibitions and tours are all in the plans, and every ticket helps keep the doors open. Dates are being set now.

Come inside

Climb it. Explore it.
Stand where the gunners stood.

The castle tower

The Tower

The 15th-century tower house at the heart of it all.

Victorian cannon lined up in the castle courtyard

The Batteries

Guns and ramparts from the castle's years defending the Tay.

The bridge and gate into the castle

The Museum

Local history and wildlife, told inside the walls since 1969.

Calm water on the Tay, with the castle across the harbour

The View

The Firth of Tay, Fife and the open sea, all from one spot.

The castle above choppy water, an eider duck riding the waves

The Wildlife

Look closely: there's an eider riding out the storm.

Victorian engraving of Broughty Castle with sailing boats

The Stories

Sieges, soldiers and five centuries of the Ferry.

Plan your visit

Broughty Castle Museum is run by Leisure & Culture Dundee. Opening hours change with the seasons, so check before you travel.

Opening times & admission
Getting here

The Castle sits on the waterfront at Castle Approach, Broughty Ferry, next to the harbour and the beach. Broughty Ferry has a railway station a short walk away, and buses run from Dundee city centre. Open in Maps

Opening times & admission

Hours and prices are set by Leisure & Culture Dundee and change through the year. See the current times.

Accessibility

This is a medieval tower, so much of it is reached by stairs. If you have access needs, contact the museum before you come and they'll tell you what's possible.

Families

Cannons to find, a green to run on and a beach on the doorstep. Bring a picnic and make a day of it.

Facilities & shop

The museum has a small shop, and every purchase helps the Castle. Cafés, pubs and the rest of the Ferry are a few minutes' walk away.

Crowds lining the castle walls and the beach below

People are the reason
it's still here.

Traders, Rotarians, community councillors, neighbours and families. The Friends are local people who decided that 530 years was not going to end on their watch.

Crowds have gathered on these walls for generations, and packed them to welcome the RRS Discovery home to Dundee.

Raymond Edwards, smiling on the grass in front of the castle tower

Meet the Chairman

Raymond Edwards

Born and educated in Dundee, Raymond had an engineering career of more than thirty years with British Steam Specialities. He joined the Boys' Brigade as a Lifeboy seventy years ago and is still Treasurer and Secretary of the 30th Dundee Company.

A trustee and volunteer for several charities, he was an Operational Assistant at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. In 2023 he was elected Deacon Convenor of the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee, and named Dundee Citizen of the Year.

“ Got a Broughty Castle memory? First visit, school trip, a proposal on the walls? Tell us. The best stories will appear here. Share your story

Get involved

Choose how you stand
with the Castle.

01VisitEvery visit matters. Come and see it. 02JoinBecome a Friend from £25 a year. 03DonateHelp fund its future. 04VolunteerGive some of your time. 05BusinessBecome a local champion. 06ShareHelp more people discover it.

Become a Friend.

Membership is how the Castle's future gets paid for, and how you get a say in it. Choose a membership and we'll be in touch to welcome you.

Our patrons

Friends in high places.

Brian Cox standing on the castle ramparts
“A big thank you to the Broughty Ferry community, our city fathers and LACD who have guaranteed funding to preserve and further develop Broughty Castle, an important historical element in our city's past and future.”
Brian Cox
Lorraine Kelly holding a Support Your Castle poster
“It's wonderful that such an important historical asset has been saved for the people of Dundee and the many visitors to Broughty Ferry. As a past resident I am delighted to lend my support as a Patron of The Friends of Broughty Castle.”
Lorraine Kelly

Join them

What your support makes possible

  • More events.
  • Better visits.
  • Education.
  • Conservation.
  • A Castle that stays open, and alive.

Get in touch

Join, volunteer,
or just say hello.

Your message goes straight to the right person on the committee.

Membership
membership@friendsofbroughtycastle.com
Everything else
secretary@friendsofbroughtycastle.com

We use your details only to reply to you and, if you join, to manage your membership. We never share them.

Broughty Castle against a blazing sunset, reflected in the Tay

It has stood here
for centuries.

Let's make sure we're only partway through its story.

Become a Friend Make a donation