Port Castle

About Port Castle

When you visit, you can appreciate the strongly defensive position of the site, taking advantage of the promontory and cut off from the land approach by a further wall. Archaeologists believe this was a prehistoric promontory fort, later reused in mediaeval times. It is one of the most exciting unexcavated Dark Age sites in the area.
Just to the north, within view, lies St Ninian’s Cave, which first is said to be a retreat of St Ninian in an 8th Century Latin poem about miracles at Whithorn, and bears evidence on its walls of crosses carved in a style which belongs to this period, when Whithorn formed part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. Recent tests by the Whithorn Trust and AOC Archaeology show that, at this time in the 8th Century, when Whithorn pilgrims were already visiting the Saint's cave, tufa - a limestone deposit - was gathered from the cliffs below the Port Castle site by the Northumbrians to use in their white plastered walls at Whithorn. This may have been an effort to echo the early church of St Ninian, known as the "White House".
The "Castle" lies on a new off-road section of the Whithorn Way, a long-distance walking route of over 150 miles which stretches from Glasgow Cathedral to Whithorn and Isle of Whithorn, following in the footsteps of pilgrims of the Middle Ages who came here seeking cures and forgiveness. You can visit St Ninian's Cave to the north, or follow the path south until it becomes a track, and ultimately reach Isle of Whithorn, where you will find a charming harbour and a 13th Century reception chapel, welcoming pilgrims arriving by sea from England and the Isle of Man. Further along, walking towards Isle of Whithorn, you will come across Carghidown Castle, another promontory fort which was excavated in 2004 following concerns about coastal erosion. Two roundhouses were found within the enclosure, with multi-phase development. The radiocarbon dates from this sequence span the period 360 BCE - 60 CE. Castle Feather, close to Burrowhead at the southernmost point of the peninsula, represents another promontory fort reused for a mediaeval castle.
A large part of the coastline from Back Bay to Carghidown is a Site of Special Scientific Interest : the route is set back from the SSSI, but you will still come across sea campion, spring squill, thrift, and scurvy grass along the top of the beach and on cliff tops. Dolphins and grey seals can be spotted off the coast.