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Eilean Donan Castle

Castle (medieval), Fort (period Unassigned), War Memorial (20th Century)
Eilean Donan Castle
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What is recorded here

Eilean Donan Castle stands on a tidal island where three sea lochs meet, rebuilt in the twentieth century after Royal Naval ships destroyed the original Mackenzie stronghold in 1719. The present walls replicate a thirteenth-century fortress that guarded the western Highlands against Norse expeditions and later became entangled in Jacobite rebellion. Its sharp silhouette rises from water so clear it seems to dissolve the stone, inviting imagination of saints, clansmen and soldiers who once watched the horizon from that small, defiant rock.
Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Eilean Donan Castle as Castle (medieval), Fort (period Unassigned), War Memorial (20th Century). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 1m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.
Eilean Donan Castle was built in the late 13th century by the Clan Mackenzie, Clan Macrae, and Clan Cameron, and it guarded the narrow land bridge between the Scottish mainland and the islands of Keswick and Raasay. It is important as one of the most iconic and photographed castles in Scotland, and it played a strategic military role due to its location at the meeting point of three seas, Loch Duich, Loch Long, and the Little Minch.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.

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Photo: Anne Burgess · CC BY-SA 2.0