View of Bothwell Castle, with figures by a fire in the foreground

At the turn of the 19th Century, dramatic landscapes such as this catered for the public's widespread fascination with the Scottish picturesque. Walter of Moray began building Bothwell Castle in the late 13th Century, but its completion was interrupted by Edward I's Scottish wars. Bothwell was a key strategic point above a bend in the River Clyde near Glasgow, and remained at the centre of hostilities, serving as Edward III's headquarters during his 1336 invasion. It was the property of the Scottish Crown for most of the 16th and 17th Centuries, but in 1669 passed to The Earls of Forfar. They shortly moved east, to Bothwell House, and at the date of this picture the Castle had been uninhabited for over a century.