Scotland is home to some of the world’s best castles – leader comment

Having appeared in Game of Thrones, Outlander and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this particular Scottish ‘celebrity’ should probably be even more famous than it already is.

Doune Castle has been renamed as Winterfell to mark the release of the final season of the ground-breaking Game of Thrones series as a digital download (Picture: Julie Howden)

Doune Castle in Perthshire has starred as Winterfell – home of the ‘King in the North’ – in a pilot for Game of Thrones, played the fictional Castle Leoch in Outlander and was given at least three parts – Camelot, Castle Anthrax and the Castle of Aarrgh – in what Python star Terry Jones later described in an audio guide for visitors as a “very silly film”.

“I have very fond memories of Doune Castle, it’s a fascinating place and the setting is absolutely spectacular,” Jones said in 2009.

Scotland is a modern country with thriving economic sectors in cutting-edge industries like fintech, biotech and some of the other techs too.

It is important that our economy doesn’t simply rely on our stunning scenery and fascinating history to attract millions of tourists every year.

However, when it comes to castles, we definitely do a good one – or six. Edinburgh, Stirling, Dunnottar, Caerlaverock, Tantallon, Eilean Donan... the list goes on.