Story and pictures by the author.
I have just returned after several weeks in Scotland with my daughter. We were impressed with several castles we visited. Officially, there are 1,103 castles protected by Historic Environment Scotland. About 750 are still standing, the remainder are low ruins. We only visited 5 which was all time allowed.
We found them all very photogenic as many are on the shores of a loch or at the end of a peninsula on the sea. The most photographed castle in Scotland is Eileen Doran that can be seen on the road to the Island of Skye.
But why are there so many castles in Scotland? For hundreds of years the English border with Scotland was a war zone and often fought over. As well there was a constant rivalry between feuding clans and these castles were built for clan defence.
The five castles which impressed us most were; Castle Dunnattar; Castle Dunnstaffnage; Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and Slains Castle on the East Coast. As well, Dunvegan Castle on Skye.
Slains Castle is a good place to start. Evidently, it was featured in the first season of The Crown (as a stand in for the Castle of May). Its real claim to fame was as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” when he visited Cruden Bay in the late 1800’s. It stands as a proud ruin on a point of land in the North Sea. A lovely walk leads up to the imposing ruin which is open for exploration. Both my daughter and I had recently re-read Dracula and were anxious to see the setting. We weren’t disappointed. Most castles in Scotland are well cared for. Slains is very interesting because it is and looks like what happens when nature takes over.
But few castles on the North Sea are as impressive as the striking location of Dunnattar. The parking lot leads to a long walk to the castle way out on a magnificent headland. It is a popular spot to visit and the lot was almost full the day we arrived. The striking site has been fortified since the early Middle Ages. Dunnattar Castle is today a ruin, surrounded by dramatic cliffs descending over 150 feet to the North Sea. It was in use until 1718 and is now a “Scheduled Monument” in Scotland. A sight to see!
Urquhart Castle, or what is left of it, sits high above Loch Ness and offers stunning views of the Loch. Loch tour boats are located at the pier beside the castle. Another popular site to visit. The lot was full when we arrived but fortunately we both had a 14 day “Explorer Pass” that allowed entrance to a number of Scottish castles and was well worth the investment. The castle ruins are striking especially with Loch Ness providing the background. I wanted to visit because the first recorded Chisholm shows up in 1359 at Urquhart as constable at the castle.
We were also fascinated by Dunnstaffnage Castle dating from the the 13th century making it one of Scotland’s oldest. Its very rich history dates back to the middle 1100’s when Norway controlled Scotland’s western seaboard. It remains in the Clan Campbell hands and has witnessed much of Scotland’s turbulent history. Its shape is dictated by the rock that it stands on that dates back over 400 million years and is built on a spit of land that guards the approach to Loch Etive near Oban.
Dunvegan Castle is one of only a few that are still lived in today. It’s the ancestral home of the McLeods and can be easily reached on the Island of Skye. The clan chief was in residence when we were there. They have marvellous gardens to tour and the castle has many interesting rooms open for viewing filled with historic artifacts. Besides the gardens and the castle tour we were attracted by their boat tours they offered of Loch Dunvegan. Since the site was very popular, we arrived shortly after opening so we could book a boat ride before they were sold out, usually by noon. The boat ride was a joy and the highlight for us was coming close to a small island of harbour seals that raised their heads and appeared to smile as we motored by. A wonderful treat.
Words only go so far in the description of these wonderful castles. Photographs help but being there and seeing these imposing historic ruins has a special impact.
