| Urquhart Castle 1 |
| 57° 19' 26.32" N, 4° 26' 32.46" W, 1986 |
Yes, yes; I know. Urquharts never held Urquhart Castle. Its name and mine, though belonging to a very old clan, originated from "Airdchartdan", a blending of Gaelic and Welsh meaning "by the thicket/wood". And long after 1230, around when the castle was built, virtually all unsettled and undeveloped land in Scotland was still covered with trees. In other words, "my people" could have originated anywhere in what would become Scotland, Ireland or Wales. Under the oldest part of the castle, archæologists have unearthed the remnants of an Iron Age settlement. Still, it's never possible to resist either the thought or the reality of Urquhart Castle when I'm travelling in Scotland.
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 A Clan Grant pencil sketch of Urquhart Castle as it may have appeared "In The Olden Time", as the inscription reads. This sketch shows a castle that could very easily be, and maybe actually was, in an earlier time, completely cut off from the mainland by a deep water-moat. It would have made sense: a water-moat would have vastly increased the security of the castle. |
 2016: David Walker's 1961 watercolour shows Urquhart Castle as it may have looked in its prime at the end of the 17th Century, dominating Strone Point, a good stretch of Loch Ness, and everything to the north and south horizons. |
 1986: Even on a soft day, Urquhart Castle, although in the twilight of its history, remains an impressive presence on the shore of Loch Ness. In its heyday, it was one of Scotland's largest castles.
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 2015: As you approach Strone Point from the east, by boat, the red brick of the new Visitors Centre distracts your eye from the tower, once the sole structure visible from this part of the loch.
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 2015: The new red brick Visitors' Centre, set into the hill just behind and above the castle, contrasts pleasingly with the verdant hillside but, viewed from the loch, definitely diminishes the impact of the castle's once-prominent profile against the green hillside.
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 2015: The Visitors' Centre, however, is a very pleasing building, with two levels of parking, not visible from the castle, on its tree- and shrub-lined roofs. The large stone observation deck backed by picture windows allows spectacular views of the castle and a good stretch of the loch from the northeast to the southwest. Though I have not been in it yet, I have had good reports from friends and read almost exclusively good reviews online.
I did find a three-minute video online showing two wheelchair-mobile visitors whizzing through the castle, something that was absolutely not possible before the changes. So, while we can all wax nostalgic over the field and the run-down barn and the sheep, well done, Heritage Scotland.
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 1986: No showy entrance here; in fact, a rider would have to dismount to enter the castle through the land-gate. One thing's certain – although they make a pleasing display, one hopes the cannonballs were in fact stacked inside the entrance.
On the left side of this exterior view of the foursquare land-gate is the arched entrance passage. Take one step inside and turn to your right to read the plaque.
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 1986: If these defences were as reliable as they sound, and if David Walker's rendition of the castle with a vertical-sided, narrow, high-walled entrance passage is even close to the reality of it, it would not have been easy pickings for raiders.
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 2015: The land-gate as it is today, with newly rebuilt beginnings of gate-towers on both sides. It's unfortunate that the powers-that-were chose not to seek out aged stone, but used what looks like retaining-wall stone from the nearest build-it store. |
Travel home    Urquhart Castle 2
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