| Situated in the Clyde basin, Dumbarton Rock was one of the greatest strongholds within Scotland and indeed Britain. It has one of the longest histories of any fortress in Britain and during the times of Roman occupation of England in 576 it is rumoured that Merlin stayed here.
For five centuries it was the capitol of the, at the time, independent Strathclyde. During 870 the castle was once laid siege to for 15 weeks, when Norse King Dublin Olaf attacked it. It played a key role in the victory over the Norse at Largs in 1263. It is also said that after William Wallace's capture in 1305 he was held here in Wallace tower before being moved to England for his execution. It was also once held by supporters of Mary Queen of Scots, when she was en-route there during her troubling times and her failure to reach there meant she turned to go south to England and of course to her eventual execution.
The last battle here was in 1941 when it was bombed by the Nazis during the Second World War, it was used by the army in both 1914 and 1939. |
