Duart Castle, Isle of Mull

History of Duart Castle

Duart Castle is the seat of the Clan Maclean, however it appears it was originally built by the MacDougalls in the 13th century and later passed to the Macleans as part of a dowry from a marriage to the daughter of Lord of the Isles in 1367. Since then the castle was added to by the Macleans and became the seat for their clan chiefs.

Restoration

The castle went through various sieges and remained standing until 1691 when it was seized by the 1st Duke of Argyll who demolished the castle and scattered the stones. In 1911 the castle and lands were bought by Sir Fitzroy Maclean (26th Chief of Clan Maclean) and restored. Later the castle was separated into living quarters for the current chief of clan Maclean when visiting and the other areas for tourists to visit.

Lady’s Rock

One of the particularly interesting stories is about Lachlan Cattanach. His wife, Catherine (sister to the Chief of Clan Campbell, Earl of Argyll) was stranded on a small rock within sight of the castle. Lachlan Cattanach knew the tide would cover the rock and drown his wife, so he waited until the morning when she had disappeared. Sending news to Catherine’s brother that she had sadly died, he was later invited to a meal with her brother at Inveraray. But to his surprise Catherine was sitting at the table too! A bit of an embarrassing surprise for Lachlan!

She had luckily been rescued by some passing fishermen. They returned her to the mainland and her brother. And the reason for her husband to try and kill her?! Simply because she hadn’t given him an heir! Fortunately another of her brothers got their revenge on Lachlan as he was killed in Edinburgh by John Campbell a few years later.

What To See at Duart Castle

Part of the castle is not opened to visitors, but there is still a large area to explore. You enter into the courtyard where there is an interpretation board showing what the castle looked like prior to the restoration.

You then enter into the old kitchen area and walk past the dungeons to see where prisoners were once kept. The most surprising thing is actually the thickness of the walls. It’s not surprising that they withstood various sieges, as the walls themselves were pretty impenetrable at 3-7 m thick!

Upstairs you will find the grand hall filled with many extravagant items and also the bedrooms, which are surprisingly small. Although the main room that everyone likes to visit is the Sea Room, with great views across the water. It’s also the best place to look out at Lady’s Rock, where Catherine was stranded years ago.

At the very top of the castle is the wall walk, which gives amazing views in all directions. Definitely don’t miss it, the views are spectacular.

It’s also worth walking around the outside of the castle. Look at how steep the sides are and why it was so hard to destroy from the sea.

Finally it’s a good idea to visit the little cafe and shop before you leave. They have warm drinks and delicious cakes, plus plenty of Clan Maclean merchandise!

How To Get To Duart Castle

Getting to Duart Castle is fairly straightforward. First you need to get Mull and there are 3 options via ferry. You can take the ferry from Oban – Craignure (must be booked in advance to guarantee space). There is the first come first served ferry at Lochaline (South West of Fort William) where you can catch the next ferry to Fishnish (10 minutes North of Craignure and not possible to book). Or on Ardnamurchan peninsula you can take the non-bookable ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory. The non-bookable ferries are quite useful as it’s literally turn up and queue for the ferry, they fit on as many vehicles as they can. The Lochaline ferry isn’t very far so it’s only 30 minutes or so to wait for the ferry to return.

From Craignure it’s a 10 minute drive South to the signpost for Duart Castle off the main (single track) road. Add on an additional 10 minutes for arriving from Fishnish or or an extra 30 minutes driving from Tobermory.

There is no current direct bus to the castle. However you can take the Line 96 bus and get off at the road end to walk or take a taxi from Craignure.

Scottish castles you may want to visit:

• Huntingtower Castle in Perthshire with it’s ‘maiden’s leap’ legend.
• Stirling Castle is a fun family day out, with excellent re-enactors.
• Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven is an impressive cliff top fortress.
• Craigmillar Castle is Edinburgh’s second castle and well worth exploring.
• Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull has great history and excellent views.
• Visit Tantallon in East Lothian for a dramatic view to Bass rock.
• Edinburgh castle is great to explore during the day, with the Scottish Honours on show too.
• Edinburgh Castle of Light is all lit up in the winter months!
• Crathes Castle and Gardens in Aberdeenshire is stunning.
• The strange shape of Blackness castle is almost ship like as a fortress.
• High up above Dollar is Castle Campbell, a fantastic lookout castle.
• Brodick Castle on Arran is popular with visitors, it’s more of a mansion house than castle.
• Inchcolm Abbey and Island in the Firth of Forth, day trip from Edinburgh Queensferry.

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