Urquhart Castle, Scotland

Panorama of the Urquhart Castle

 

Urquhart Castle

Near Drumnadrochit, Highland, Scotland

A medieval castle overlooking Loch Ness.

 

Tower House of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness.

 

 

Urquhart Castle (/ˈɜːrkərt/ ⓘ UR-kərt; Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal na Sròine) is a ruined castle that sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The castle is on the A82 road, 21 kilometres (13 mi) southwest of Inverness and two kilometres (1+1⁄4 miles) east of Drumnadrochit.

 

The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. It was subsequently held as a royal castle and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross. The castle was granted to the Clan Grant in 1509, though conflict with the MacDonalds continued. Despite a series of further raids the castle was strengthened, only to be largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces, and subsequently decayed. In the 20th century, it was placed in state care as a scheduled monument and opened to the public: it is now one of the most-visited castles in Scotland and received 547,518 visitors in 2019.

 

The castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area.[3] It was approached from the west and defended by a ditch and drawbridge. The buildings of the castle were laid out around two main enclosures on the shore. The northern enclosure or Nether Bailey includes most of the more intact structures, including the gatehouse, and the five-story Grant Tower at the north end of the castle. The southern enclosure or Upper Bailey, sited on higher ground, comprises the scant remains of earlier buildings.

 

The view of the loch from a window in the west wall of the castle keep.

 

The remains of the 13th-century "shell keep" or motte is

the earliest part of the castle to survive

 

The Grant Tower viewed from Loch Ness

 

Urquhart_Castle_entrance

Broken masonry from the destruction of the gatehouse

 

URQUHART_CASTLE_MAIN_ENTRANCE

The remains of the gatehouse

 

View on Loch Ness from Urquhart castle

Urquhart Castle. Looking North East along Loch Ness

 

 

 

Ruins of Urquhart Castle With a view south down Loch Ness, in the direction of Fort Augustus.

 

 

Urquhart Castle, Scotland

Urquhart Castle, Scotland

As a mythic spectacle, maybe only a legendary local lurker can top this lochside ruin. Steps from the shores of Loch Ness, the now-headless fortress must once have been a great perch to search for a slippery back breaching the water's surface. Folks from the Bronze Age might even have watched for Nessie's great-great-great-great-grandserpents here—evidence shows this promontory's been occupied by humans for 4,000 years. The structure we see now was built much later, in the 13th century, and was the site of many a Scottish clan's skirmish. That is, until the jolly English blew it up in 1692. Since then it's stood guard in peace, with only an elusive lake monster to keep it company (well, that and literal boatloads of tourists).

 

 

Urquhart Castle on banks of Loch Ness near Inverness in Scotland

urquhart-castle-on-the-shore-of-loch-ness-scotland