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Castles
on Skye.

It’s 21:43 on Skye.
Isle of Skye

Castles of the clans.

Skye's castles tell the story of the clans who fought over the island for centuries, the MacLeods in the north and west and the MacDonalds in the south and in Trotternish. Some are still lived in, with gardens, tearooms and centuries of family history inside. Others are broken walls on sea rocks and cliff tops, where you can stand where the chiefs once did and look out over the water. Bring a jacket, as the best of them are wonderfully exposed, and look out for the stories that come with each one.

Knock Castle→
Caisteal Maol→
Armadale Castle Gardens→
Brochel Castle→
Eilean Donan Castle→
Duntulm Castle→
Dun Beag Broch→
Dunscaith Castle→
Dunvegan Castle→
Castle of the day20 hours ago

Dunvegan Castle.

Dunvegan Castle, rising majestically from its rocky perch on the shores of Loch Dunvegan, is a place where the mists of time mingle with the magic of legend. For over...

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Lunch18 hours agoIsle of SkyeBog Myrtle Café700 yardsIsle of SkyeThe Three Chimneys at Talisker4.7 milesIsle of SkyeThe Old Inn4.9 miles

Lunch near Dun Beag Broch.

The three good places closest to it: Bog Myrtle Café, The Three Chimneys at Talisker and The Old Inn.

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From our guide17 hours ago

Dunscaith Castle.

Another shattered waterside castle, its ruined remnants deeply evocative of battles past, Dunscaith sits on an offshore crag and was abandoned in the 17th century. If you’re wondering about the preponderance of similarly named fortresses, incidentally, ‘dun’ translates as ‘castle’.

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Did you know15 hours ago

When told the history of the Fairy Flag, the chief of MacLeod replied that the fairies gave it.

When an expert from the V&A explained the flag's likely history, Sir Reginald MacLeod listened politely and replied that he knew it had been given to his ancestor by the fairies. The expert bowed to his superior knowledge.

See Dunvegan Castle · Isle of Skye
Stay14 hours agoTrotternishMonkstadt 17454.6 milesTrotternishThe Cowshed Boutique Bunkhouse7.1 milesIsle of SkyeHalf of One9.9 miles

Stay near Duntulm Castle.

The three good places closest to it: Monkstadt 1745, The Cowshed Boutique Bunkhouse and Half of One.

See Duntulm Castle
From Issue 1 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 112 hours ago

The Macdonalds of Skye and Their Castles

The story of Clan Donald from Somerled and Bannockburn to the Lords of the Isles, and the Skye castles tied to the Macdonalds at Armadale, Knock and Duntulm.

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True or false9 hours ago

True or false: Samuel Johnson hated Skye when he visited in 1773.

Did you know8 hours ago

The romantic ruin at Armadale on Skye is not an old one, and most of it was pulled down on purpose in 1981.

It looks medieval and it is not. The white part of the building went up around 1790, and in 1815 the architect James Gillespie Graham extended it into a castle for the Macdonalds of Sleat, with arcaded public halls and a great marble staircase. Fire took the central section in 1855. The family moved to a smaller house in 1925 and left the rest to the wind and rain, and by the time the Clan Donald Lands Trust bought it in 1972 the west end was derelict. In 1981 the decision was taken to demolish it, saving what remnants could be saved. The archway and the ivy are what was kept.

See Armadale Castle Gardens · Isle of Skye
From our guide7 hours ago

Knock Castle.

The Skye shoreline isn’t short on crumbling castles. It takes an effort to reach this one-time base of the MacDonalds, but the rewards come in the form of battle-scarred masonry, quiet cliffs, and stirring views from the Sleat coast.

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From our guide5 hours ago

Armadale Castle.

A ruined fortress, a coastal location and 40 acres of stately woodland gardens combine to turn Armadale Castle into one of the chief attractions on the Sleat peninsula. The castle dates back to the 19th century and was once the seat of the Macdonald clan; on a fine day it’s mighty picturesque.

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Did you know4 hours ago

Torabhaig Distillery on Skye is built of stone taken from Knock Castle next door.

Long a rumour, it is now confirmed: when Torabhaig Distillery compared the stone, the old farm steading it was built in turned out to have been made with stone taken from the castle.

See Knock Castle · Isle of Skye
Castles2 hours ago

Caisteal Maol.

The broken walls of a 15th-century Mackinnon castle on a knoll above Kyleakin harbour, looking over to the Skye Bridge.

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