HMP Castle Huntly

Scotland’s only open prison

In shortCastle Huntly is Scotland’s only open prison, holding low supervision adult men who progress there from other establishments.

• Capacity184Low supervision adult male prisoners, any local authority area
• Single cell places (2022)182Murray House has double cells
• Accessible cells (2022)1For the whole prison; the Independent Living Unit was closed at that time

Following a risk management process and a period in closed conditions, men can progress there. The emphasis is on careful preparation for release, with activity focused on enhanced personal responsibility, job readiness and positive citizenship.

Inspectors add that the prison does not receive prisoners directly from court: people arrive by progressing from other establishments.

• Location: Longforgan, around seven miles west of Dundee in the Carse of Gowrie, close to the Firth of Tay and visible from the main road between Dundee and Perth.
• Accommodation in 2022: Murray House with double cells, and Bruce and Wallace Wings with single cells.

A castle with a long history

In shortThe prison occupies a 15th century castle, bought by the Scottish Home and Health Department in 1946 and still owned by the SPS.

The SPS page on the prison gives a short history. The castle stands on an outcrop of volcanic rock just south of Longforgan, built of stone from Kingoodie Quarry on the River Tay.

• The inspectors’ 2022 report notes that the original 15th century buildings house the management and administration offices, while the modern accommodation wings were built on the site.

Numbers: from underuse to full

In shortThe prison went from under half of design capacity in 2022 to 197 held against a capacity of 184 by November 2025.

• June 2022Under halfOf design capacity; around a third could take placements though around 130 were available
• May 2023 average155151 in June, the highest recorded in that quarter
• 20 November 2025197Against design capacity 184 and tolerance 184

In 2022 the Chief Inspector said too few prisoners could take community placements, because men were needed to run the prison. He described a stark choice for the SPS: use the prison better by removing barriers to progression, or continue running an underused and expensive facility.

Management at Barlinnie reported to monitors that more short-term prisoners progressed to Castle Huntly in 2024-25 than in the preceding ten years.

What inspectors found in 2022

In shortAll nine standards were rated satisfactory, with the report calling for better accommodation.

• Inspected20 Jun to 1 Jul 2022Report published 22 December 2022
• Standards satisfactory9 of 9
• Good practice / recommendations20 / 38
• Treated quite or very well in reception73%Pre-inspection survey

The report called Castle Huntly a distinctive establishment that should be a flagship for the SPS. It recorded a 59% staff engagement score in the People Survey, and described staff as motivated and committed, with a shared belief in what the prison is trying to achieve.

Independent monitors and later developments

In shortMonitors called the prison well run with excellent relationships, while flagging staffing gaps in 2024-25.

• Monitor visits, 2024-2552146 hours logged
• Requests from prisoners13Attributed in part to positive staff-prisoner relationships

Monitors described the prison as well run and achieving its aim of testing prisoners in the community before release. They noted a consistently high number of men licensed for work placements and home leave, and described the Independent Living Unit as an excellent facility.

• Around five new officers arrived in March 2025.

Working at Castle Huntly

In shortCastle Huntly officers are SPS employees on the same SPS terms and routes as the rest of the estate.

Castle Huntly is an SPS prison, so officers are SPS employees on SPS terms. The inspection and monitoring reports describe officers acting as personal officers, running work parties, and monitoring prisoners on community placements, with high levels of staff motivation.

• The SPS pages say recruitment covers establishments across the central belt plus Dumfries, Inverness and Peterhead, and publish intake dates (for example 19 October 2026 and 11 January 2027).
• We did not find a vacancy listed specifically for Castle Huntly, so check the SPS portal.
• SPS visitor information says the number 39 bus runs from Dundee and Perth to Longforgan, and the nearest railway stations are Invergowrie (4 miles), Dundee (7 miles) and Perth (16.1 miles).