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Duart Castle on its rocky headland across calm water, wrapped in scaffolding for repairs in 2021, hills behind.
Isle of Mull

Duart Castle

The seat of the Clan Maclean on a rocky point over the Sound of Mull, a medieval keep restored from ruin after 1911.

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Welcome

Duart Castle stands on a rocky point at the east end of Mull, guarding the Sound of Mull, and it is the seat of the Macleans of Duart.

Its great keep, perhaps built in the later fourteenth century for Lachlan Lubanach Maclean, rises three storeys over a courtyard closed by an older curtain wall, and a house was added in the seventeenth century, dated 1653 over its door.

The castle passed to the Earl of Argyll in 1692 and was abandoned in 1751, until in 1911 Colonel Sir Fitzroy Maclean bought it back and had it restored by the architect Sir John James Burnet as the home of the clan. It is open to visitors from April to October, with a tearoom serving soup and home baking all day, a gift shop, and marked walks down to the water's edge. The grounds, tearoom and shop are free to enter, and the grounds stay open in daylight when the castle is shut.

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The Daily for 8 November, from Scotland with love. An ivy-covered ruined tower stands on a small headland across the loch, autumn hills rising behind it through a screen of green leaves.
Not farTobermory distilleryOne of the oldest working distilleries in Scotland, founded in 1798 at Ledaig in Tobermory, with tours, tastings and a shop.20 milesSee itTobermory distillery
Before you go

Open every day from April to late October.

The grounds, tearoom and shop are free; the castle is by ticket.

Where
Duart Castle, Isle of Mull PA64 6AP: three miles from the Craignure ferry terminal, at the end of the Duart road.
Open
1 April to late October, seven days a week: 10.30am to 4pm in April and October, 10.30am to 5pm from May to September. The grounds can be visited in daylight when the castle is shut, with a donation box by the car park.
Price
Castle, 2026: adult £13, senior or student £12, child (5 to 15) £6, family (2 adults and up to 3 children) £34. The grounds, tearoom and shop are free.
Booking
Castle tickets are bought on arrival or beforehand on the castle's website.
Parking
The castle car park is free and has two wide disabled spaces by the path to the castle; the surface is loose slate gravel.
Dogs
Welcome in the grounds on a lead, with sheep sometimes grazing. Inside the castle, tearoom and shop, assistance dogs only.
Getting there
CalMac sails to Craignure, then Duart is three miles on by road: there is no public transport from the terminal for foot passengers. West Coast Motors sell ferry, bus and castle tickets together.
Access
Twelve steps up to the courtyard, then spiral stairs to the floors above the ground floor. The tearoom, shop and toilets are in a separate old farm building. The shop and tearoom each have one small step up, and the toilets are reached from the path by one step down over a low threshold. Paths and the car park are loose gravel, uneven in places. Visitors who cannot manage the walk may drive up by arrangement.
Food
The tearoom has soup, coffee, tea and home baking all day, and a lunch menu from 12 to 2.30pm; it is licensed, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free options usually available.

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Where it is

On a rocky point at the east end of Mull, three miles from Craignure, at the end of the road signed for Duart.

Close byAbove the Sound of Mull.
  1. The white lighthouse and its buildings on the rocky islet.Lismore LighthouseRobert Stevenson's lighthouse of 1833 on Eilean Musdile, off the south end of Lismore, where Loch Linnhe meets the Sound of Mull.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The broken basalt wall of Ardtornish Castle on its grassy knoll, with the Sound of Mull and the hills of Mull beyond under a shaft of sunlight.Ardtornish CastleThe ruin of a hall-house of the Lords of the Isles on a rocky headland in the Sound of Mull, in Morvern.6 miles as the crow flies
  3. The dining room at The Whitehouse Restaurant in Lochaline, wooden tables laid with candles, white stone walls, a round mirror and a log fireplace.The Whitehouse Restaurant7 miles as the crow flies
  4. Aros Castle on its green knoll above a still bay at low tide, trees and a white house along the shore.Aros CastleThe ruins of a 13th-century hall-house and bailey on a promontory above the Sound of Mull near Salen.17 miles 29 min by road
  5. TobermoryTobermoryMull's main town, a planned fishing port of 1788 whose painted houses curve round a sheltered bay on the Sound of Mull.20 miles as the crow flies
  6. Carsaig BayCarsaig BayA remote bay on Mull's south coast under towering headlands, with a black sand beach, an old pier and seals.24 miles 42 min by road
Directions
A seafood platter at Ee-Usk in Oban: langoustines, oysters, mussels, a crab claw, scallops and smoked salmon on a white plate, with a glass of white wine.RestaurantsEe-Usk7.5 miles
A cheese toastie scattered with chives at the Coal Shed Café, Ardtornish, with slaw, a chopped salsa and vegetable crisps on a grey plate.CafeThe Coal Shed Café7.9 miles
Ardtornish House in its gardens from the air, lawns and flowering shrubs round the pink sandstone mansion and its tower, woods all round and the Morvern hills beyond under summer cloud.AttractionsArdtornish Gardens8.0 miles
Piazza, Argyll and ButeRestaurantsPiazza, Oban15 miles
The Modern Croft, ObanShoppingThe Modern Croft, Oban15 miles
The Oban Inn, Argyll and ButeRestaurantsThe Oban Inn15 miles
Oban Chocolate Company, ObanCafeOban Chocolate Company15 miles
Fishing boats Kyrene and Dorus Mor moored in Oban harbour, McCaig's Tower above the townAttractionsOban Bay15 miles
Sorcha Bakery, Argyll and ButeCafeSorcha Bakery, Oban15 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the castle, and when each is next free.

A landscape view of the whitewashed cottage in low evening sun, its blue doors, lit lamps and teak chairs, smoke rising from the chimney.Fern Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Croggan
  • 6 miles from Duart Castle
Check datesThe Drury from the lawn below: a grey granite Victorian villa with sandstone bay windows, dormers in the slate roof and tall chimneys.The Drury
  • Sleeps 22
  • In Oban
  • 8 miles from Duart Castle
Free 14–16 NovGlencruitten House, Argyll and ButeGlencruitten House
  • To stay
  • In Oban
  • 9 miles from Duart Castle
Check datesBlack timber-clad cabin with corrugated roof and stove flue, set among trees and long grassBeatha
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Oban
  • 10 miles from Duart Castle
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay on MullAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more on Mull.

From the magazineThe Unmissable Castles of ArgyllArticleTracing Your Scottish RootsArticleFrom Angus to Iona: A Busy Month on Both CoastsCollectionCastles in Scotland Worth the Entry Fee
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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .