17
ARTS, CULTURE & TOURISM
URQUHART
CASTLE
The
stunningly
situated
Urquhart Castle, perched on a
promontory on the shoreline of
Loch Ness, is one of Scotland’s
most famous buildings. Once
one of the country’s largest
castles, it’s fair to say time has
reduced the dwelling in stature,
but despite its ruinous state,
there’s more than enough here
to draw in the crowds. While its
tower house offers magnificent
views over the iconic Loch Ness
and Great Glen, there’s plenty
to see elsewhere including a
full-sized working trebuchet
siege engine and a memorable
collection of medieval artefacts.
The squalid prison cell is even
alleged to have held the famous
Gaelic bard Domhnall Donn.
Famously, Urquhart Castle is
where St Columba is alleged to
have performed miracles in the
6th century. It’s also changed
hands countless times in the
past, belonging at one time to
noble families like the Durwards
and Grants, and once having
been under the control of
Robert the Bruce. Visitors can
learn more about the castle’s
history from an exhibition in the
new visitors’ centre, which also
contains a great little gift shop
and a cafe that looks out onto
the loch. Idyllic.
Drumnadrochit, Near Inverness, IV63 6XJ
Urquhart Castle
01456 450 551
