Dunvegan Castle

📌 Dunvegan, Isle of Skye
★★★★

Excluding Skye’s long list of natural sites, Dunvegan Castle is the big name tourist attraction on the island. The rather austere residence is still the MacLeod clan seat and occupies a wonderful position on Loch Dunvegan on the west side of Skye. This is a surprisingly long drive of well over an hour from the Skye Bridge, mainland Scotland or even southern Skye, so study travel times carefully before a visit here. The tour of the opulent interior is extensive (going some way to justifying the ticket price) and photography is happily permitted; highlights for us included the bright library, comfortable drawing room and unexpected pit dungeon. Parts of the castle date to the 13th century but most of the building is much newer – with major remodelling in the 1800s – and there are some fascinating passageways, pits and chambers where different building periods don’t quite link up smoothly. Also look out for the tattered but treasured “Fairy Flag”, which is no doubt responsible for the christening of various “fairy” honeypot sites around Skye. In our view however, the biggest draw of any summertime visit to Dunvegan Castle is its surroundings. The extensive and immaculately presented grounds incorporate a walled garden, water gardens, woodland walks and fantastic viewpoints of both castle and coastline from the low headland to the west – all despite the challenges of a wild Hebridean climate. Indoor and outdoor: allow at least a couple of hours in benign weather.