A landscape view of the castle tower among the trees, a wide foreground of wet stones and weed at low tide.

Isle of Mull

Moy Castle

The 15th-century tower of the MacLaines of Lochbuie on a rock at the head of Loch Buie, saved by a long repair project.

Welcome

Moy Castle is a tall, roofless tower house on a low rock at the head of Loch Buie, on the south coast of Mull, with woods around it and a shore of boulders and seaweed below.

Hector Maclean, brother of Maclean of Duart and founder of the MacLaines of Lochbuie, built it in the fifteenth century, and the MacLaines made it their home. It is built of local schist slabs, beach boulders and harled stone, its doorways dressed in greenish sandstone from Carsaig.

Inside, three storeys and a garret: vaulted chambers on the ground and first floors, a well cut into the rock that always holds fresh water, and a bottle-shaped pit prison 3.3 metres deep. The MacLaines lived here until 1752, when they moved to a new house. The Mull Historical and Archaeological Society has spent years stabilising the walls, but the door stays locked for safety, so it is seen from outside. It is still worth the visit for its setting over Loch Buie.

Before you go

Lochbuie is on the south coast of Mull, about 14 miles from the ferry at Craignure.

The castle door is locked because of the risk of crumbling masonry, so it is seen from outside. Lochbuie House is a private home: keep to the footpath signs and keep dogs under control.

Getting there: CalMac ferry: Oban to Craignure (50 minutes), Lochaline to Fishnish, or Kilchoan to Tobermory.
Where: Lochbuie, 14 miles from Craignure.
Inside: Door locked for safety; seen from outside.

Did you know

Another frame of the castle tower and tree, the grass and moss at its foot a little wider in the frame.

Did you know

A well that never fails.

In the middle of the ground floor is a well cut into the solid rock, above the level of the ground outside, which always holds fresh water. No one knows how it is fed.