Castles and castles and castles!

A highlight of getting out of the city and into the highlands of Scotland was getting the opportunity to visit a variety of castles. They were a small sampling of the many castles Scotland has, yet were greatly enjoyed by all. They ranged from deteriorated to still inhabited, large to small and from medieval to modern.

Inverness Castle
The original fort was built on this hill in the 11th century, but the current structure standing here was built in 1836 and houses the Sheriff's Court. It has a fantastic view over the city and the River Ness. Various plaques commemorated this sites role in Scottish history. James I held Parliament here in 1427-8 gathering the Highland clan chiefs and punishing (read: executing or jailing) those who had been disobedient. Mary Queen of Scots visited in 1562 and when a captain in charge mistakenly denied her entry, he was decapitated and his head was displayed on the castle wall (similar stories were repeated in many places we've visited). In 1764 Bonnie Prince Charles and 3000 of his Jacobite followers seized the castle, plundered it for food and weapons and then razed the site in a blast of explosives.

Urquhart Castle (trebuchet, beautiful ruins along lake)
This castle is one of the largest in Scotland, and built in the 13th to 16th centuries. The castle was partially destroyed in 1692 to keep Jacobites from using it and has been decaying since. It's now a protected monument and popular with tourists. We enjoyed the amazing view of Loch Ness (didn't see Nessie, though) and had brilliantly sun for our visit. It was protected by the lake on the east/north/south and to the west had a ditch and drawbridge. There was a recreated trebuchet on display that was fun to see, along with the guard in costume. It really is quite expansive and must have been incredible in it's heyday.

Eilean Donan Castle
This much-filmed castle is located where three lochs (lakes) come together: Loch Long, Loch Duich and Loch Alsh. Due to its strategic location, the location has been inhabited since the Iron Age. The first castle built in the 13th century offered protection against the Vikings. The size of the castle grew smaller, perhaps easier to man over the centuries, but continued to be a stronghold. Of particular use was the presence of a freshwater well within the castle and the fact it was inaccessible during high tide (the bridge was added much later). In 1539, three men held it against 50 ships at the height of clan warfare! However, the castle was almost completely destroyed in 1719 and what we see today was reconstructed in the early 1900's by Clan McRae who still own it. While certainly being picturesque, I think the fact that it's a rather modern reinvention of a former castle took away some interest for me.

Dunvegan Castle
Privately held and continually inhabited by the same family for 800 years, this castle of the current Clan MacLeod chief is lovely to visit. The guided tour was interesting and entertaining and taught us the family lore of successive clan chiefs. The children searched for hidden keys in each room and then we all enjoyed visiting the expansive gardens with idyllic creek and bridges and numerous plants still in bloom. This was a Rick Steve's recommendation that didn't disappoint!

 

Doune Castle
This is an authentic medieval castle in good repair that was so much fun to explore. I'm not going to lie, it was extra fun because they filmed Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail here for their "Knights of the Round Table" scene. The audio guide started with the theme song, which took me back a few decades. We enjoyed exploring the narrow hallways and tight, winding staircases. The doorway height give you pause to think about how much taller we are today. It was even complete with a description and example of a medieval toilet (stone hole over a chute leading to the outside).

Stirling Castle
We had a brief visit to infamous Stirling Castle as the children's attention was waning. We may be able to return for a day trip from Edinburgh, but certainly were able to see this is quite an extensive castle with numerous, furnished interiors.

Edinburgh Castle
Visible to us daily from pretty much anywhere in Old Town we amble, it is a fun visit, though certainly popular. We plan to go back for more visits and enjoy this castle in little bits at a time. Situated on the plug of an extinct volcano (very hard dolerite, a type of basalt rock to be precise), Edinburgh Castle has never been breached. It has fallen due to siege, after which the English occupied it. The problem with having such an impregnable castle is once you've lost it, it's hard to retake! The Scottish forces were able to retake the castle, though, through a Trojan-horse style subterfuge where soldiers disguised themselves as merchants who were resupplying the garrison. They drove their cart through the gates, but stopped there so it blocked the closing of the portcullis. Hidden soldiers nearby then rushed in and reclaimed the castle for Scotland. Surprising to me, the castle also was used as a prison in both WWI and WWII. In fact, the castle's prisons were also active in 1757-1815 and the wooden doors of the prison have historic graffiti from the prisoners of countries with whom Britain was warring. This included an American prisoner who etched in the original stars and strips flag of the thirteen colonies. Quite neat to see!