Castle Tioram, Eilean Tioram Island, Scotland

Last years holiday to Scotland in 2017, was mostly a wash out, but we did have a few nice days and on one of these we came across Castle Tioram, sitting on the tidal island of Eilean Tioram.

Castle Tioram is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland.  It is located west of Acharacle, approximately 80 km from Fort William.  You find it down a two mile bumpy single track road, but it is worth it.

We parked the car in the sandy carpark and walked across the sandbar causeway, you should watch the tide, but I should think it would be ok unless it was a very high tide, but its better to be on the safe side.  We started to climb the grassy slope up to the castle gate.  There had only been another couple, but they disappeared, so we were quite alone.  We came to the gate, which was broken, the door was swung open, the following photo shows the gate from the inside……yes we went in, we should not have, as it is very dangerous, but we did.  I think going into this castle is the closest I have been to a castle that had has not really been changed in hundreds of years.  The owner wants to turn it into a house, which would be a terrible mistake, it needs to be consolidated and open to the public, its a little gem of history.

The origins of the structure you can see today, date back to the building of a castle at some point in the 1200s.  This would have comprised a curtain wall, following the irregular plan still evident, though probably of rather lower height as there is evidence of the walls being heightened later in the castle’s life. Access was by the barrel vaulted gateway which remains the only entrance today.  Over the following four centuries, Castle Tioram was altered and added to many times, but most of these changes affected the interior accommodation, with the result that the basic shape of the castle today would still be recognised by its original builders, some eight hundred years ago.

The castle courtyard is on two levels and is heavily over grown. 

Castle Tioram was recorded as being in a poor condition when occupied by a garrison of 14 government troops during the 1715 Jacobite uprising.

The following are photos of the interior, which is not very safe, and I stayed outside trying to imagine what it would have been like about 800 years ago.  Work was carried on consolidating the castle in the second half of the 1800s by the neighbouring estate and again in 1926, but one can’t help, but feel not enough was done.  In 1997 it was sold and that brings us back to changing the castle into a house…..I do hope not, but something does need to be done, if the castle is not to fall into the sea.

 

 

Inveraray Castle, Scotland

This is the view of Inveraray Castle, that you see from the bridge on the road into Inveraray.   For some reason we have yet to visit, even on holiday last year 2016 it didn’t happen.  So for the moment its just the exterior, and in black and white, because it was a grey day and the castle is grey/green …… so it just got lost in colour.  

A little history…The castle was built on a rectangular plan with a sturdy crenellated tower at the centre and circular towers at each corner. The new house bristles with mock-military features including turrets, moats, and slit windows. To provide an uninterrupted view from the castle, the entire burgh of Inveraray was destroyed and rebuilt half a mile away in its current location.   Construction of the castle began in 1743 but took 43 years to complete.

Shooting A Castle, Inveraray, Scotland

I have a thing about taking photos of people taking photos and I have just found this one of Inveraray Castle on the shores of Loch Fyne, which I took May 2016.

Balloch Castle Country Park, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland

Its not often that you get to see a castle being restored, but we did last year 2016.  We had a couple of hours to spare in and around Dumbarton in Scotland, before meeting family, so of course we went off to explore a little.  I had seen a sign for Balloch Castle Country Park, well there must be a castle, so we followed the sign post, and the road went on and on.  Husband started to get a bit twitchy as the road was eating into the little time that we had, and then suddenly there was the entrance.  Couldn’t see any castle from the car park, lots of parkland and beautiful shrubs, but there was no sign for a castle, so maybe there wasn’t one.  Husband went off down a path and I went down another, a shout from husband had me scurrying down his path.  There was the castle, not quite what I was expecting, but non the less quite interesting.

A little history…. The Castle designed by Robert Lugar in 1809 is listed category B, however it is a pioneer of its type and an important house of its date. There are also Stables and two lodges. The site of the 13th century castle is a scheduled ancient monument.

Balloch was for several hundred years the stronghold of the Lennox family. The remains of their old castle, a mound surrounded by a moat, are still to be seen in the south-west of the Park and are scheduled as an ancient monument. In 1390 the Lennoxes moved to the island of Inchmurrin for greater safety but Balloch remained in their ownership until 1652 when the 4th Duke of Lennox sold it to Sir John Colquhoun of Luss. In 1800 the estate was acquired by John Buchanan of Ardoch who commissioned the architect Robert Lugar to build the new Gothic-style castle on the present site. John Buchanan started the laying out of the present landscape, planting unusual trees and shrubs, and his work was continued from 1830 by the next owner, Gibson Stott. Between 1845-1851, the estate was sold again, to Mr A.J. Dennistoun Brown who died in 1890. Glasgow City Corporation bought the 815 acre estate from his Trustees in 1915 in order to improve opportunities for visitors. In 1975, the Park was leased to Dunbarton District Council for a period of thirty years at a nominal rent and in 1980 it was registered as a Country Park

I think a return visit is required, one, to see how the restoration is coming along, two, to see the ancient castle remains and three, to explore the wonderful parkland. 

 

Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe, Scotland

In 2016, I ticked a castle off my wish list, Kilchurn Castle, one of the iconic castles of Scotland.  We have passed by so many times, and each year I wanted to visit, but I wanted a nice sunny day.  Well I got the sunny day in 2016, we parked in the small car park and then walked to the castle.

The closer we go to the castle, the bigger my smile got, finally I was going to explore one of my favourite castles.  We walked up to the door…….it was locked, we tried again, and still it remained firmly locked……no it was suppose to be open, more people turned up, a discussion follow, but still it stayed well and truly locked.  I did find a window to hold the camera up to, to get a shot of inside, as there wasn’t really any other way of seeing the interior, I got a little glimpse, which will have to do until we go back.

 

 

A little history ………Kilchurn Castle is a ruined structure on a rocky peninsula at the northeastern end of Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was first constructed as a five storey tower house with a courtyard in the mid-15th century as the base of the Campbells of Glenorchy, who extended both the castle and their territory in the area over the next 150 years.

By the 17th century, it was a military barracks and in 1760 it was damaged by fire and abandoned. Kilchurn fell out of use and was in ruins by 1770. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

After exploring in the sunshine, we made our way back to the car, a little disappointed, but it was still a good visit.  The following photos show you how most people first see the castle from the road, the second is a close up of the same photo, but I have changed it to b&w.

Duntulm Castle, Skye, Scotland

Duntulm Castle with spectacular views of the Outer Hebrides, you can understand the reason they built it there, and no, not just for the view, although I would have done.  The castle, with sheer cliffs on three sides, stands ruined on the north coast of Trotternish, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, near the hamlet of Duntulm.  We were on our round the ‘Island Road Trip’ a week ago on holiday and I suddenly noticed the ruins, not sure how I missed them in pervious years…..most probably busy looking at the view.  We didn’t have time to stop, as we had a ferry to catch and we still had a long way to go, so the photos were taken out of the car window….. again.

 

A little history…..Duntulm is believed to have been first fortified in the Iron Age, and the site continues to be associated with the name Dùn Dhaibhidh or “David’s Fort”.  Later in life it was fortified by the Norse, and subsequently by their successors, the MacLeods of Skye. It would have been while it was under the MacLeod’s tenure that James V visited the castle in 1540, where he was impressed by its strength and the quality of the hospitality on offer.  In the 17th century it was the seat of the chiefs of Clan MacDonald of Sleat.  The MacDonalds abandoned the castle in about 1730 in favour of nearby Monkstadt House and then Armadale Castle in Sleat.  We did visit Armadale Castle, which has a lovely garden, and I will post about it later.  

 A little haunting for you…. a nursemaid accidentally dropped the baby son of the clan chief from a castle window above the cliffs.  The ghost of the nursemaid, killed in retribution, is still said to wander the ruins. She is apparently kept company by the ghost of Hugh MacDonald, who plotted against the rightful clan chief in the 1600s, and who was starved to death in the dungeon at Duntulm.   

There were quite substantial ruins left in the 1880, a large keep several stories high, which would have looked quite impressive on the cliff top.  But, as with many of theses castle ruins, the stone work was removed for building projects and other parts eroded away, or just fell into the sea.  

May 2017

 

The Royal Castle of Tarbert, Argyll, Scotland

We finally made the climb up to Tarbert Castle, on our visit of May 2016, and it was worth the effort in the hot sunshine.  The views were beautiful, but there isn’t that much left of the castle, and really what you can see is a remains of a Tower House or Keep, built in 1494 by James IV, and I have taken photos of  the notice boards which will tell you about it.  As you walk up to the Tower House or Keep, you walk through the inner and outer baileys, which are just humps in the ground now, and all that is left of the ancient 1292 castle.  When the castle fell into disrepair in 1760, most of the stone disappeared down the hill to the village, and I’m guessing that a lot of those village cottages have Royal Castle walls.  But what I really remember most about the visit, apart from the fantastic views, were the hundreds of bluebells just covering the hillside, really beautiful.  We then had to rush down the hill to catch our ferry to Islay, as we had lingered far too long in the sunshine.