Dunstaffnage – A MacDougall Castle at the Mouth of Loch Etive
A few hours.
The route
A morning inside Dunstaffnage Castle by Oban and out to its chapel, then a short drive to Connel for lunch at the Oyster Inn by the bridge.
A small, easy day, nearly all of it on foot and close to the sea.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Dunstaffnage
A morning at the castle and its chapel, then lunch by Connel Bridge.
Dunstaffnage Castle
An attraction
Dunstaffnage stands on a great rock at the mouth of Loch Etive, the sea on three sides, and it's one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland, built by the MacDougalls before 1240. Inside, you can walk round the ramparts. Robert the Bruce took the castle in 1308, and Flora MacDonald was held here in 1746. The MacDougalls' own chapel, from the same century as the castle, stands a short walk south-west, its tall, narrow windows edged with fine carving.
About 5 min by car
The Oyster Inn, Connel
Lunch
Lunch is a short drive east at the Oyster Inn in Connel. The oldest part of the inn was the Ferryman's Inn in the 18th century, when a ferry carried passengers from Connel to North Lorn; Connel Bridge now spans the Falls of Lora outside. The food is in the Gluepot bar, Scottish pub food with an open fire in the winter months.
If it rains
Bring weatherproof clothes for the ramparts and the walk to the chapel; lunch is indoors.
Poppies, Saulmore, a café in Oban.
Make it a weekend
More days out in Oban.
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