King Robert the Bruce gave land to the Burnetts of Leys in 1323. A timber crannog fortress stood there in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Construction of the present tower house began in 1553, was delayed by political problems during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was completed in 1596. The article does not name an architect.
It is a harled tower house, and several rooms have Scottish Renaissance painted ceilings, including the Chamber of the Muses. A walled garden of nearly 4 acres has Irish yew topiary hedges from 1702 that divide it into eight themed areas. The estate covers 590 acres.
A fire damaged the Queen Anne wing in 1966. Sir James Burnett gave the castle to the National Trust for Scotland in 1951, and it is open year-round.
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